Black Congressional Member Biographies

John Willis Menard*

John Willis Menard was the first Black man ever elected to the United States House of Representatives. In November 1868, Menard won a special election to fill the vacant seat representing the Second Congressional District of Louisiana. With the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, Black Americans first exercised the right to vote, catapulting hundreds of Black Americans in the South into public office. Although Menard won the election, his opponent challenged his right to be seated. The case went all the way to Congress. Unfortunately, the House Committee on Elections failed to make a final determination on the election challenge, and the seat remained unfilled for the remainder of the 40th Congress (1867 – 1869).

Hiram Rhodes Revels

In February 1870, Hiram Revels became the first Black American to serve in Congress when he filled the seat of former Mississippi senator and Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Revels served for the remainder of the 41st Congress (1869 – 1871) and was assigned to the Education and Labor and District of Columbia committees. Revels was not an outspoken advocate for racial equality. Still, he opposed an amendment to keep schools segregated in Washington, D.C., and assisted Black mechanics who were prohibited from working at the Washington Navy Yard because of their racial identity.

Jefferson F. Long

Jefferson Long, a former slave, was the first Black representative of Georgia and the only Black American to represent Georgia during Reconstruction. He served for just one session of the 41st Congress (December 1870 – March 1871) but distinguished himself by being the first Black representative to address the U.S. House of Representatives. He gave a speech in opposition to a bill that would modify the oath required of former Confederates, allowing them to qualify for public office.

Joseph H. Rainey

Joseph Rainey, born in slavery, was the first Black representative from South Carolina to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served from 1870 to 1879 (42nd – 45st Congresses) and advocated for the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and the Civil Rights Act of 1875. Rainey was assigned to the Freedmen’s Affairs, Indian Affairs, and Invalid Pensions committees and two select committees. He became the first Black American to preside over a session in the House when he took over as Speaker during a debate on an Indian appropriation bill in 1874.

Benjamin S. Turner

Benjamin Turner, the first Black representative from Alabama, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1871 to 1873 (42nd Congress). While enslaved, Turner had managed a hotel and stable and, by 1870, had accumulated enough wealth to establish a school for Black children. Turner sponsored a bill requiring the federal government to purchase southern land and sell tracts to freedmen. As a member of the Invalid Pensions Committee, he helped pass two bills authorizing payments for Civil War veterans.

Robert C. De Large

Robert De Large was born in slavery and later served in the House as a representative of South Carolina from 1871 to 1873 (42nd Congress), serving on the Manufactures committee. After taking office, the District’s former Democratic representative contested the election, and De Large lost his seat two months before serving a full term. During his brief tenure in Congress, De Large called for greater protection of Black Americans from white supremacist groups. Shortly after leaving Congress, he died of consumption at thirty-one.

Robert B. Elliott

Robert Elliott represented South Carolina in Congress from 1871 to 1874 (42nd – 43rd Congresses), when he resigned to become Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Born in Liverpool, England, Elliott was a popular and hard-working political organizer. As a delegate to the South Carolina constitutional convention in 1868, he defeated the imposition of poll taxes and literacy tests that would prevent Black Americans from voting. He later distinguished himself in Congress with major speeches on behalf of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and the Civil Rights Act of 1875. In 1872, Elliott was re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 93 percent of his District’s vote. He served on the Education and Labor and Militia committees. Born of West Indian parents, Elliott graduated from Eton College in England and was trained as a typesetter. He also served in the British navy. Upon arrival in the United States, Elliott became the associate editor of the South Carolina Leader, a newspaper edited by future Congressman Richard Cain. He was a practicing lawyer.

Josiah T. Walls

Josiah Walls was the first Black representative to the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida. He served from 1871 to 1875 and from 1875 to 1876 (42nd Congress and parts of the 43rd and 44th Congresses). Walls was twice unseated by opponents who claimed he had been elected unfairly. Walls was born in slavery and was a servant in the Confederate Army until Union troops captured his regiment. Walls was later elected to fill Florida’s single seat in Congress, where he became a strong advocate for improvements within his state. He also supported a national fund for education and proposed the nomination of future Black Congressman John Mercer Langston to serve as Vice President of the United States. Walls served on the Militia, Mileage, and Expenditures in the Navy Department committees.

Alonzo J. Ransier

For one term, Alonzo Ransier represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1873 to 1875 (43rd Congress). He served on the Manufactures committee. Although an outspoken advocate for the passage of the 1875 Civil Rights Act, he abstained from voting on the bill because it failed to address the segregation of public schools.

James T. Rapier

James Rapier was one of three Black representatives to Congress from Alabama during Reconstruction. He served for one term, from 1873 to 1875 (43rd Congress), and was assigned to the Education and Labor committee. Rapier proposed the establishment of an office to help Black Americans acquire land in the West and the allocation of $5 million for public schools in the South. He secured the passage of a bill to make Alabama’s capital a federal port of delivery and asked Congress to provide greater financial oversight of southern land grant colleges.

Richard Harvey Cain

Richard Cain represented South Carolina in Congress from 1873 to 1875 and from 1877 to 1879 (43rd and 45th Congresses). Cain spoke out on behalf of the 1875 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed segregation but was later overturned. Cain also introduced a bill to use proceeds from public land sales to support southern schools serving both Black and white children. He served on the Agriculture and Private Land Claims committees. Cain supported Black emigration to Liberia and, as a leader of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, he was responsible for the establishment of churches throughout South Carolina. Cain was born in Virginia to an African-born father and a Cherokee mother. In 1831, the family moved to Ohio, where he went to school and worked on steamboats along the Ohio River. He later attended Wilberforce University.

John R. Lynch

John Lynch was the first Black American member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi and the youngest member of the 43rd Congress. He served from 1873 to 1877 and 1882 to 1883 (43rd – 44th and 47th Congresses) and was assigned to the Mines and Mining, Education and Labor, and Militia committees. Lynch was a strong advocate for the Civil Rights Bill of 1875. Beginning in 1872, Lynch was a delegate to all but one Republican National Convention over twenty-eight years. Lynch was also the first Black American to deliver the keynote address at a Republican or Democratic national convention. Lynch is the author of The Facts of Reconstruction (1913) and Reminisces of an Active Life, which he completed in the late 1930s, but was not published until 1970.

Blanche K. Bruce

Blanche Bruce, who escaped slavery at the outset of the Civil War, was a Mississippi Senator from 1875 to 1881 (44th – 46th Congresses). He was the first Black American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate. During a debate on the Chinese exclusion bill, which he opposed, Bruce also became the first Black American to preside over a session of the Senate. Bruce called for desegregation of the Army and better treatment of Native Americans. He chaired the Senate Select Committee to Investigate the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (Freedman’s Bank) and served on a select committee for improving navigation on the Mississippi River. He was also a member of the Manufactures, Education and Labor, and Pensions committees. Bruce became an academic administrator at Tuskegee Institute and Washington, D.C. colored schools.

Charles E. Nash

A former sergeant for the Union army, Charles Nash was the first Black American to represent Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served from 1875 to 1877 (44th Congress). Nash spoke on the House floor in support of enforcing laws to protect freedmen and urged the establishment of public schools in the South. He served on the Education and Labor committee.

Jeremiah Haralson

Jeremiah Haralson, enslaved until 1865, was one of three Black Americans from Alabama who served in the U.S. House of Representatives during Reconstruction. He was known for being a powerful orator. While serving in Congress, Haralson supported amnesty for former Confederates and opposed using federal troops to quell violence in the South during the presidential election of 1876. He served just one term, from 1875 to 1877 (44th Congress), and was assigned to the Public Expenditures Committee. Haralson ran for re-election in a majority-Black district but was unsuccessful as a white Democratic candidate won the election. Before entering politics, Haralson taught himself to read and write and was a farmer and a minister.

John Adams Hyman

John Hyman, enslaved until 1865, was the first Black American to represent North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1875 to 1877 (44th Congress). He served on the Manufactures committee. In his early twenties, Hyman worked for a jeweler who taught him to read and write, and he received an elementary education after emancipation in 1865. Hyman became active in politics as a young adult and served in North Carolina’s State Senate for six years before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Although he introduced several bills on behalf of his constituents, none made it past the committee stage.

Robert Smalls

Robert Smalls represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1875 to 1879 and from 1882 to 1883 (44th – 45th and 47th – 49th Congresses). Smalls was enslaved until May 1862, when he piloted a Confederate army ship into Union waters. He soon became active in politics and, by the 1870s, was an influential leader in South Carolina. Smalls fought segregation in the military, railroads, and Washington, D.C. eating establishments and opposed Black American emigration to the western United States and Liberia. He served on the Agriculture, Militia, Manufactures, and War Claims committees.

James E. O’Hara

James O’Hara was the second African American to represent North Carolina in Congress, serving from 1883 to 1887 (48th – 49th Congresses). Until the arrival of Robert Smalls in March 1844, O’Hara was the only Black Congressman at that time. He served on the Mines and Mining, Expenditures on Public Buildings, and Invalid Pensions committees. O’Hara unsuccessfully proposed several critical pieces of legislation on behalf of Black Americans. These included a civil rights amendment to the Constitution; reimbursement of depositors in the failed Freedman’s Bank; an amendment to an interstate commerce bill to prevent segregation of railroad passengers; and an investigation of the 1886 attack on a Carrollton, Mississippi courthouse, which resulted in the death of twenty-three Black Americans. O’Hara also supported equal pay for male and female teachers. He was the first Black American admitted to the North Carolina Bar.

George W. Murray

George Murray represented South Carolina from1893 to 1895 and, after successfully contesting the election of William Elliott, from 1896 to 1897 (53rd – 54th Congresses). He served on the Expenditures in the Treasury and Education committees. Murray fought for federal protection of voting rights in the South and advocated recognizing Black American contributions to the nation’s economic progress. Murray was the author of two books, Race Ideals: Effects, Cause and Remedy for the Afro-American Race Troubles (1914) and Light in Dark Places (1925).

Henry P. Cheatham

Henry P. Cheatham represented North Carolina in Congress from 1889 to 1893 (51st – 52nd Congresses) and was a member of the House Expenditures on Public Buildings and Agriculture committees. Born a slave, Cheatham attended public schools and earned a master’s degree from Shaw University in 1887. That same year he helped found the North Carolina Colored Orphanage at Oxford, where he later served as superintendent from 1907 until his death. An advocate for recognizing Black contributions to American life, Cheatham requested Congress appropriate money for an exhibit of Black arts, crafts, and industrial and agricultural products and establish a bi-racial panel to assess Black American education, financial, and social progress. The House failed to adopt both of these proposals. Cheatham was also unsuccessful in securing funding to reimburse depositors of the Freedmen’s Bank and honor Robert Smalls and the crew of the Planter, a steamship, for their service during the Civil War. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1892 and 1900. In 1892, Cheatham lost his re-election bid and two years later lost the nomination to his brother-in-law, George H. White. He also served as the President of the Negro Association of North Carolina.

John M. Langston

John Langston was the first Black American to represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served one term (1890 – 1891) after successfully contesting the election of another candidate to the 51st Congress. As an Education committee member, Langston tried to establish a national industrial university for African Americans and attempted to appoint Black applicants to United States Naval Academy. Langston received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oberlin College and studied law in Ohio. He was inspector general of the Freedmen’s Bureau, held political posts in Haiti and Santo Domingo, and served as Howard University’s Vice President and acting President. Langston founded Howard’s School of Law and served as its dean from 1868 to 1875. He published his autobiography, From the Virginia Plantation to the National Capitol, in 1894.

Thomas E. Miller

After successfully contesting another candidate’s election, Thomas Miller represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from September 1890 to March 1891 (51st Congress). He was assigned to the Library of Congress committee. Despite serving in Congress for only five months, Miller gave at least two important speeches on the floor, including one supporting federal oversight of elections and protection of voters. Another defended Black Americans against blame for the South’s economic problems. Miller and John R. Lynch were the last surviving Black representatives of the 19th century.

George H. White

George White, enslaved until the age of 10, was the last Black American to serve in Congress until 1928. He represented North Carolina from 1897 to 1901 (55th – 56th Congresses), serving on the Agriculture and District of Columbia committees. In 1900, White introduced the first bill to make lynching a federal crime punishable by death. He also called for reducing Congressional representation of states where Black Americans could not vote. During his earlier service in North Carolina’s House and Senate, White was a strong advocate for public education in the South. After leaving Congress, he founded a Black town in New Jersey and established a bank to serve Black entrepreneurs and homebuyers.

Oscar S. De Priest

Congressman Oscar De Priest was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1929, representing Illinois’ first Congressional District. De Priest, a Republican, was the first African American elected to Congress in the 20th century and the first Black representative elected from a northern state. His election ended a 28-year absence of Black legislators in Congress.  A well-known Chicago businessman and politician, De Priest was the only Black legislator during the 71st – 73rd Congresses. While in office, he spoke out against racial discrimination, calling for the desegregation of the House restaurant and key government initiatives such as Roosevelt’s work programs.  Notably, De Priest appointed Benjamin O. Davis Jr. to the United States Military Academy when the only African American line officer in the Army was Davis’s father.  Upon leaving Congress, De Priest returned to Chicago City Council and was an alderman.

Arthur W. Mitchell

Congressman Arthur W. Mitchell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1935 after defeating Oscar De Priest for his seat. Representing Illinois’ first Congressional District, Mitchell was the first African American Democrat elected to the House. Initially a Republican, Mitchell changed parties during the early days of Roosevelt’s New Deal. During his four terms, he was the lone African American member in Congress. A lawyer and businessman, Mitchell began teaching in rural schools in Georgia and Alabama. Later he founded the Armstrong Agricultural School in West Butler, Alabama, and served as president for ten years. A fierce Roosevelt loyalist, Mitchell was highly scrutinized by Black leaders and organizations as not being progressive enough on civil rights. He introduced legislation banning lynching and discrimination. He also filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Central and Rock Island Railroads after being forced into a segregated train car just before it passed into Arkansas. This case was advanced to the U.S. Supreme Court as Mitchell v. the United States, which ruled that the railroad violated the Interstate Commerce Act. In his last congressional act, Mitchell condemned politicians as preferring the Axis powers over giving Negros any rights, comparing the atrocities of the Nazis and Japanese with the lynching of African Americans. Mitchell attended Tuskegee Institute, Columbia, and Harvard before being admitted to Washington D.C. Bar.

William L. Dawson

Congressman William L. Dawson served in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly three decades. Dawson, a well-established politician in Chicago, was elected in 1942 as a Democratic Representative from Illinois, serving from 1943 until he died in 1970 (78th – 91st Congresses). Throughout his tenure, he focused on improving the lives of African Americans. Dawson was a vocal opponent of the poll tax, discriminatory against poorer voters. He is also credited with defeating the Winstead Amendment. Proposed by Representative William Winstead (D-Mississippi) after the Truman administration integrated the United States armed forces following World War II, it would have allowed military members to opt out of racially integrated units.  During his first two terms in office, Dawson was on the Coinage, Weights, and Measures; Invalid Pensions; and Irrigation and Reclamation committees. Dawson served on the Insular Affairs Committee (later named Interior and Insular Affairs) from 1943 to 1946. From 1951 to 1952, he served on the Expenditures in the Executive Departments Committee (renamed Government Operations in 1952) from the 78th through the 80th Congress (1943 – 1949) before ascending to committee chair in 1949. He was the first African American to chair a standing committee. Dawson held the post until 1970, except for a single term in the 83rd Congress (1953–1955), when Republicans controlled the House. Likewise, he served on the District of Columbia Committee from 1955 to 1970. Dawson graduated from Fisk University in 1909 with a bachelor’s degree. After attending Kent College of Law and Northwestern University, Dawson enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I.

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971 (78th – 89th and 91st Congresses). Powell, a Democrat, was the first Black Congressman elected from New York State.  While in Congress, Powell became a powerful voice on civil rights and social issues in the Democratic Party. In 1961, after 16 years in the House, Powell became chairman of the Education and Labor Committee.  He was an ardent supporter of social and civil rights legislation under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Powell’s leadership of the Committee on Education and Labor led to more than 50 measures authorizing increases in the minimum wage, federal programs for vocational training, standards for wage and work hours, and aid for schools and libraries.  Among his numerous achievements, Powell led an investigation about bias in schoolbooks and education, calling out publishers and administrators for biased content and practices.  Powell received a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and earned a master’s degree in religious education from Columbia University.

Charles C. Diggs, Jr.

Congressman Charles C. Diggs, Jr. was the first African American to represent Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served the 13th District of Michigan from 1955 until his resignation on June 3, 1980 (84th – 96th Congresses). Diggs was a leader on civil rights issues during his tenure, asking President Eisenhower to call a special session of Congress to discuss civil rights, calling for the enforcement of Section Two of the Fourteenth Amendment and supporting the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He was also involved in foreign affairs, especially relations with Africa. Diggs was instrumental in securing partial self-government for the District of Columbia as chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia during the 93rd – 95th Congresses. Diggs was the first Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1971 to 1972. He served on the Interior and Insular Affairs, Veterans’ Affairs, Foreign Affairs, International Relations and District of Columbia Committees. Diggs was censured by the House on July 31, 1979, according to House Resolution 378. After his service in Congress, Diggs returned to his family business and ran a funeral home in Maryland. Diggs attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and Fisk University, later earning a mortuary license at Wayne College of Mortuary Science. From 1943 to 1945, he served in the United States Army Air Forces. Diggs also served in the Michigan State Senate from 1951 to 1954.

Robert N.C. Nix, Sr.

Congressman Robert N.C. Nix, Sr. became the first African American to represent Pennsylvania in a 1958 special election to fill the vacancy left by Representative Earl Chudoff. Nix served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative of Pennsylvania’s 2nd District from 1958 to 1979 (85th – 95th Congresses). In Congress, Nix sponsored legislation to create a “senior service corps” for people over sixty and worked on the landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s. He also introduced an amendment to the Foreign Military Sales Act requiring the Defense Department to inform Congress of agents’ identities who negotiate arms sales for American firms and the fees they receive for their work. Nix served on several committees, including the Crime, Select Standards and Conduct, Merchant Marines and Fisheries, Foreign Affairs, International Relations, and Veterans Affairs committees. Nix also served as Chair of the Post Office and Civil Service Committee during the 95th Congress. Before Congress, Nix practiced law and became active in the Democratic Party, holding office as a committeeman at the city level (1932 to 1934).  From 1934 to 1938, he worked as a special deputy attorney for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s revenue department and then as a special assistant deputy attorney general before being elected to Congress. Before coming to Congress, Nix graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Augustus F. Hawkins

Congressman Augustus F. Hawkins was the first African American to represent California and the first Black representative from any western state.  He served California’s 29th Congressional District in the House from 1963 to 1991 (88th – 101st Congresses). Hawkins authored more than 300 state and federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Job Training Partnership Act, and the School Improvement Act. Hawkins also sponsored the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act of 1978, which focused on the goals of full employment, growth in production, price stability and a balance of trade and budget.  Hawkins was a member of the Joint Economic Committee and served on the Education and Labor (committee chair, 99th, 2nd session – 101st Congresses), House Administration (committee chair, 97th – 98th Congresses), Joint Committee on the Library (committee chair, 97th Congress) and Joint Committee on Printing (committee chair, 96th and 98th Congresses). Before serving in Congress, Hawkins was a member of the California state assembly for 28 years. He continued his advocacy on such issues as fair housing, fair employment, low-cost housing and disability insurance legislation, and workers’ compensation for domestic workers while serving in Congress. Hawkins earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

John Conyers, Jr.

Congressman John Conyers, Jr. represented Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives from1965 to 2017 (89th- Congress – 114th Congresses). Conyers served more than fifty years, becoming the longest-serving African American member of Congress. He was the Dean of the House from 2015 to 2017, as he was the longest-serving member. By the end of his last term, Conyers was the last remaining member of Congress who had served since the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. He served on the Small Business Committee and as chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform (101st-103rd Congresses) and the House Committee on the Judiciary (110th Congress). He was Chair of the Judiciary Committee from 2007 to 2011. He is the only Judiciary Committee member to have participated in the Watergate impeachment scandal and the Clinton impeachment process. Representative Conyers advocated civil liberties, voting rights, affordable health care, and an end to violence against women. While in office, Conyers helped introduce home rule and congressional representation legislation for the District of Columbia and served as a principal sponsor of the Voting Rights Act and the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act. One of his significant achievements was the passage of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Act of 1983 after 15 years of struggle to find support for the bill.  Before entering Congress, Representative Conyers served in the National Guard and the United States Army Corps of Engineers during the Korean War.  He earned both a bachelor’s degree and a law degree at Wayne State University.

Edward W. Brooke

Senator Edward Brooke represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 until 1979 (90th – 95th Congresses).  Before serving in the Senate, he served as the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  In 1966, Brooke became the first African American popularly elected to the United States Senate following his election.  While he professed loyalty to the Republican Party, he was an independent thinker who acted according to his conscience. Brooke co-wrote the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited housing discrimination. He also became a prominent critic of Republican President Richard Nixon, and was the first Senate Republican to call for Nixon’s resignation in light of the Watergate scandal.  Although Brooke supported the Republican Party, his stances were often contrary to the official party line.  He typically adopted a liberal agenda concerning social issues. During his two terms in the Senate, Brooke backed affirmative action, minority business development, and public housing legislation. After leaving office, Brooke practiced law in Washington, D.C. and became chairman of the Boston Bank of Commerce. One year later, he was named to the board of directors of Grumman. In 2004, President George W. Bush awarded Brooke the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2007, Brooke published his autobiography, Bridging the Divide: My Life. Brooke earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard University.  After graduation, Brooke entered the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant and served overseas in World War II. His experience on the Massachusetts military base inspired him to earn an LL.B. in 1948 and an LL.M. in 1949 from Boston University.

Shirley A. Chisholm

Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to Congress.  Chisholm was representative of New York’s 12th District from 1968-to 1982 (91st-97th Congresses).  She served on the Education and Labor, Rules, and Veterans Affairs Committees.  During her fifteen years in the House, Chisholm was known for her strong liberal views, including her opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and her advocacy of full-employment programs.  She also earned praise for her efforts on behalf of Black colleges, compulsory education, and minimum wage.  Chisholm co-founded the National Political Congress of Black Women in 1984 and worked vigorously for the presidential campaigns of Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988. Chisholm was also the first African American woman to run for the presidency in 1972.  Before her election to Congress, she worked as a teacher and school director and was elected as a delegate of the New York State Assembly in 1964. Chisholm has authored two books, Unbought and Unbossed (1970) and The Good Fight (1973). She also served as Purington Chair at Massachusetts’ Mount Holyoke College, where she taught politics and women’s studies after serving in Congress. In 1985, Chisholm was a visiting scholar at Spelman College. In 1987, she retired from teaching. She received her bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College and a master’s degree in elementary education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Congresswoman Shirley A. Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to Congress, representing New York’s 12th District from 1969 to 1983 (91st – 97th Congresses). She served on the Education and Labor,  Rules, and Veterans Affairs Committees. In 1972, she became the first Black woman to run for the U. S. presidency. During her 14 years in the House, Rep. Chisholm was known for her strong liberal views, including her opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and her advocacy of full-employment programs. She also earned praise for her efforts on behalf of Black colleges, compulsory education, and raising the minimum wage. Before her election to Congress, Chisholm served in the New York State Assembly. She co-founded the National Political Congress of Black Women in 1984 and worked vigorously for the presidential campaigns of Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988. After leaving Congress, she taught politics and women’s studies at Massachusetts’ Mount Holyoke College until 1987. Congresswoman Chisholm received her bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College and a master’s degree in elementary education from Teachers College, Columbia University.  While in Congress, she published two books, Unbought and Unbossed (1970) and The Good Fight (1973).

Louis Stokes

Congressman Louis Stokes served as the first African American to represent Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1969 to 1999 (91st-105th Congresses). Before his election to Congress, Stokes practiced law and participated in three cases in the United States Supreme Court, including a 1967 case requiring Ohio to adopt a redistricting plan that would reflect the presence of African American voters in the state. This plan created a new district in Ohio, the 21st District, and Stokes won the new seat in the House in 1969.  While in office, Stokes served on the Education and Labor, Internal Security, Appropriations, Budget, Standards of Official Conduct (committee chair, 97th – 98th, 102nd Congresses), Select Intelligence, Select Assassinations (committee chair, 95th Congress), and Select to Investigate Arms Transactions to Iran Committees.  Stokes also served as the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus during the 92nd and 93rd Congresses. Stokes was always an advocate for health and helped found and chair the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust while in office. When he left Congress in 1999, Stokes became the first African American in U.S. Congress to complete 30 years in office.  Stokes served in the Army from 1943 to 1946 and received a Juris Doctor from Cleveland Marshall Law School of the Cleveland State University.

William L. Clay, Sr.

Congressman William Lacy Clay, Sr., represented Missouri’s 1st Congressional District from 1969 to 2000 (91st – 106th Congresses).  When elected, he became the first African American representative from Missouri and one of only two African American representatives from states west of the Mississippi River to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Environmental justice, labor rights, and social justice issues were priority legislative concerns during his tenure. He was a ranking member of the Education and Workforce Committee and served as Chair of the Post Office and Civil Service Committee. Other committee assignments included Education and Labor, Education and Economic Opportunities, House Administration, and Joint Library committees. Clay was the third senior member of the House when he retired in 2000. Before Congress, he served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955.  After his military service, Clay returned to St. Louis, where he worked as a real estate broker and manager of Industrial Life Insurance Company and became involved in local politics, union and civil rights activities. He was also on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen in 1959 and served as a committeeman.  He is also the author of several books, including Just Permanent Interests: Black Americans in Congress 1870-1992 (1993) and Bill Clay: A Political Voice at the Grass Roots (2004). Clay earned a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from St. Louis University.

George W. Collins

Congressman George Washington Collins was elected simultaneously to the 91st and 92nd Congresses by special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Representative Daniel J. Ronan. Congressman Collins represented Illinois’ sixth Congressional District from 1970 to 1972 (91st – 93rd Congresses). Collins fought to increase funding for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, improve mass transit programs, and reform the Federal Housing Administration during his tenure. Collins introduced a bill requiring the Treasury Department to provide low- and moderate-income taxpayers free tax preparation services. He served on the Government Operations and Public Works Committees until his untimely death. His wife, Cardiss Collins, succeeded him in Congress. Before Congress, Collins served with the Army Engineers in the Second World War. Upon his discharge in 1946, he worked as a deputy sheriff in Cook County, IL, as an administrative assistant to the Chicago Board of Health and alderman on the Chicago City Council. Collins earned a business law degree from Northwestern University.

Ralph H. Metcalfe

Congressman Ralph H. Metcalfe represented Illinois’ first Congressional District from 1971 to 1978 (92nd-95th Congresses). Metcalfe served on the Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Merchant Marines and Fisheries, and Post Office and Civil Service committees. During his time in Congress, Metcalfe worked to expand federal housing programs and improve public housing projects. Other issues of importance to Metcalfe were airline safety, prison administration, preventative medical care for school children, and increased education, housing, and job opportunities for residents of the Panama Canal Zone. Metcalfe also made significant achievements as an Olympic athlete, including setting a world record for the team event with Jesse Owens in 1936. Before entering the United States Army Transportation Corps, Metcalfe became a track coach and political science instructor at Xavier University. After his discharge as a first lieutenant, Metcalfe returned to Chicago and was elected Third Ward Democratic Committeeman and served three terms on the Chicago City Council before being elected to U.S. Congress. He received a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Marquette University and a master’s degree in physical education from the University of Southern California.

Parren J. Mitchell

Congressman Parren J. Mitchell was representative for Maryland’s Seventh Congressional District from 1971 to 1987 (92nd – 99th Congresses). He was the first African American to represent Maryland in Congress. He chaired the Congressional Black Caucus for the 95th Congress and was known for his support of small and minority businesses.  He successfully advocated that minority contractors receive a designated percentage of public works projects.  Mitchell served on the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee, which provided a legislative voice for minority businesses and chaired the Small Business Committee during the 97th – 99th Congresses. He served on several other committees, including the Banking and Currency, Budget, Joint Defense Production, and Joint Economic Committees. Mitchell was the first African American graduate student at the University of Maryland in College Park.  He was able to attend the university and earn a master’s degree in sociology after suing the University of Maryland Graduate School for admittance with the advice of his brother Clarence Mitchell Jr., an NAACP official, Clarence’s mother-in-law, Lilly Mae Carroll Jackson, the Maryland State NAACP Director and Thurgood Marshall, future Supreme Court Justice, as counsel. During World War II, Mitchell served in the United States Army, receiving a Purple Heart for his service.

Walter E. Fauntroy

Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy was the first African American representative to the U.S. House of Representatives from the District of Columbia. In 1970 Congress passed the District of Columbia Delegate Act, which provided Washington with representation in the House of Representatives for the first time since 1875. Under this act, Walter E. Fauntroy was elected in a special election and served from 1971 to 1991 (92nd-101st Congresses). Though he could not vote on the House floor, Fauntroy could submit legislation to the House and vote on the committee level.  Fauntroy served on the District of Columbia; Banking and Currency; Banking, Currency and Housing; Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs; Select Assassinations; and Select Narcotics Abuse and Control Committees.  Before his time in office, Fauntroy was a civil rights leader.  Martin Luther King, Jr. appointed him to serve as director of the Washington Bureau of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He also served as D.C. Coordinator for such historic marches as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March in 1965 and the Meredith Mississippi Freedom March in 1966. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as Vice President of the White House Conference on Civil Rights in 1966 and was a member of D.C. City Council from 1967 to 1969.  Fauntroy earned a bachelor of arts degree at Virginia Union University and a bachelor of divinity degree from Yale University Divinity School. He was the pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church until he retired in 1991.

Ronald V. Dellums

Ronald V. Dellums represented California’s Eighth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1998 (92nd-105th Congresses).  Before entering the U.S. House of Representatives, Dellums had a career as a psychiatric social worker and served on the Berkeley City Council (1967-1970).  A leading voice for peace and disarmament in Congress, Dellums was the principal congressional leader fighting to curb and reverse military spending and the nuclear arms race and a leader in the effort to terminate U.S. government support for the apartheid in South Africa.  While in office, he served on the Foreign Affairs, National Security, Post Office and Civil Service, and Select Intelligence Committees.  He also chaired the District of Columbia Committee during the 96th-102nd Congresses and the Armed Services Committee in the 103rd Congress.  In December 1988, he was elected Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, a post he held for the 101st Congress.  He resigned from his seat in Congress on February 6, 1998.  Dellums went on to become Mayor of Oakland.  Dellums served two years in the Marine Corps and earned a bachelor’s degree at San Francisco State College and a master’s degree in social welfare from the University of California at Berkeley.  He is the author of several books, including Lying Down with the Lions: A Public Life from the Streets of Oakland to the Halls of Power (2000) and Defense of Sense: The Search for a Rational Military Policy (1983).

Charles B. Rangel

Charles B. Rangel represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 2017 (92nd -114th Congresses). Rangel worked to revitalize urban neighborhoods, make housing affordable housing, reduce unemployment, and diminish drug trafficking and abuse in Congress. A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and former CBC Chair for the 94th Congress, he also led the effort to end apartheid in South Africa and restore democratic government to Haiti. Rangel became the first African American to serve as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee (2007 -2010).  He served as chair of the Select Narcotics Abuse and Control Committee during the 98th-102nd Congresses and as a member of the House Judiciary Committee during the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. Other committee assignments have included the Public Works, Science and Aeronautics, Select Crime, Joint Taxation, and District of Columbia Committees. Before his election to Congress, he served in the U.S. Army from 1948-52, during which time he fought in the Korean War and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. In 2007, he published a memoir entitled And I Haven’t Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress. He earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a law degree from St. John’s University School of Law.

Andrew J. Young

Congressman Andrew Young represented Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District from 1973 to 1977. Young was the first Black Representative from Georgia since Jefferson Long’s election a century earlier. A pastor and civil rights activist, Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement; he served as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. During his tenure in Congress, Young took an interest in foreign relations, including the decision to stop supporting the Portuguese attempts to hold on to their colonies in southern Africa. He also served on the Rules Committee and the Banking and Urban Development Committee. Opposed the Vietnam War, Young helped enact legislation establishing the U.S. Institute for Peace. Young later served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the Carter Administration. He went on to be the Mayor of Atlanta. Author of several books, Young remains active on public policy issues. He is a graduate of Howard University, and he also earned a divinity degree from Hartford Seminary.

Barbara C. Jordan

Congresswoman Barbara C. Jordan was representative of the 18th Congressional District of Texas from 1973 to 1979 (93rd – 95th Congresses). She was the first African American to represent Texas and the first African American woman to represent a southern state in the United States House of Representatives. Her committee assignments included the Judiciary and Government Operations Committees. A lawyer, Jordan also was a member of the Texas Senate, a delegate to two Texas State Democratic Conventions, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1968 and a keynote speaker at the National Convention in 1976. After her service in Congress, she taught public policy at the University of Texas at Austin and served on the Commission on Immigration Reform. Jordan received her bachelor’s degree from Texas Southern University. She also earned her law degree from Boston University School of Law.

Yvonne Braithwaite Burke

Congresswoman Yvonne Brathwaite Burke was representative of California’s 28th Congressional District from 1973 to 1979 (93rd – 95th Congresses). She was also the first African American woman elected to California’s House of Representatives. She was also the first female chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1976. Her committee assignments included the Interior and Insular Affairs, Public Works; Appropriation; Select Assassinations; and Select Beauty Shop Committees. She chaired the Select Beauty Shop Committee for the 94th and 95th Congresses. Before her tenure in Congress, Burke was the first African American woman to serve in the California State Assembly. She has fought for prison reform, improved childcare, equal opportunities for minorities and women, and education during her career. She has focused her efforts on improving the lives of children, encouraging economic development, and improving transportation in Los Angeles. Burke received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and a law degree from the University of Southern California School of Law.

Cardiss Collins

Congresswoman Cardiss Collins was representative of Illinois’ Seventh Congressional District from 1973 to 1997 (93rd – 104th Congresses) after winning a special election to succeed her late husband, George W. Collins. She served as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus during the 96th Congress. She served on the Government Operations; Government Reform and Oversight; Public Works; International Relations; Foreign Affairs; District of Columbia; Energy and Commerce; Commerce; Select Population; and Select Narcotics Abuse and Control Committees. Collins fought for diversity and gender equity in the communications and media industries. Her other legislative interests included health care, gender equity in college athletics, and reforming childcare. She attended Northwestern University.

Harold E. Ford, Sr.

Congressman Harold Ford represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives for eleven terms, from 1975 -to 1997 (94th – 104th Congresses). Following two terms as a state legislator, Ford was elected the first African American in Congress from Tennessee. Ford’s Congressional service included the Committee on Banking, Currency, and Housing, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the Select Committee on Aging, and the Select Committee on Assassinations. Ford is known for his membership on the influential House Ways and Means Committee. Elected at age 29, he was one of the youngest Members ever to chair a subcommittee on Ways and Means. During his tenure in Congress, Ford strongly advocated for government assistance for the poor and welfare reform. In 1987, Ford was appointed to the powerful Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. After retirement, Ford remained active with the Democratic Party and worked as a lobbyist. Ford is a graduate of Tennessee State University and earned an associate of arts degree in mortuary science from John Gupton College and an M.B.A from Howard University.

Bennett M. Stewart

Congressman Bennet M. Stewart is a one-term Democrat representing Illinois’ First Congressional District during the 96th Congress (1979 – 1981). Stewart was an educator, alderman, and Chicago City Council member throughout his career. He was very active in the state and national Democratic party, holding various positions. Stewart received a bachelor’s degree from Miles College.

Melvin H. Evans

Congressman Melvin Evans, the first Black delegate to represent U.S. Virgin Islands, was elected to Congress in 1978. Before Congress, Evans served in various medical and public health posts at hospitals and institutions in the United States and the Virgin Islands, including Commissioner of Health for the Virgin Islands and chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Human Resources. Eventually, President Richard M. Nixon appointed him governor of the Virgin Islands. As a physician, Evans used his congressional tenure to promote health care, education, and other areas of concern to his constituents during his brief tenure in the House of Representatives. Evans served on the Armed Services, Interior and Insular Affairs, and Merchant Marine and Fisheries committees. Evans achieved distinction as the first popularly elected governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Evans was attentive to the needs of his unique constituency, securing federal funds to provide the territory’s public education system with additional programs and introducing legislation to alleviate the critical shortage of doctors at local health facilities by permitting foreign physicians to practice in the Virgin Islands. In 1981, President Ronald W. Reagan nominated Evans as United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. Evans served in that office until his death. Evans received a bachelor’s degree from Howard University and an M.D. from the Howard University College of Medicine. He also earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of California at Berkeley.

George T. (Mickey) Leland

Congressman George T. (Mickey) Leland represented Texas 18th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to1991 (96th – 101st Congresses). A Democrat and anti-poverty activist, Leland was known for his advocacy on hunger and health care. Before Congress, he served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. Leland made the issue of homelessness and hunger the centerpieces of his advocacy in Congress. He co-authored legislation with U.S. Rep. Ben Gilman (R-New York State), establishing the House Select Committee on Hunger. Likewise, he initiated several programs designed to address the famine crises that plagued Ethiopia and Sudan in the 1980s. While chairing the House Select Committee on Hunger, Leland was a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Subcommittees on Telecommunications and Finance, Health and the Environment, and Energy and Power. He also chaired the Subcommittee on Postal Operations and Services and served on the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service and the Subcommittee on Compensation and Employment. His life and advocacy were cut short when he died tragically in a plane crash in Ethiopia. Leland earned a degree in pharmacy from Texas Southern University.

William H. Gray, III

Congressman William H. Gray represented Pennsylvania’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1978 to 1991 (96th – 102nd Congresses). Gray was the first African American in Congress to chair the powerful and partisan Budget Committee and the first Black representative to become the third-ranking Democrat in the House. Gray later served on the House Administration Committee and the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction. As Chairman of the Committee on Budget, Gray introduced H.R. 1460, an anti-Apartheid bill prohibiting loans and new investment in South Africa and enforcing sanctions on imports and exports with South Africa. This bill was an instrumental precursor to the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 (H.R. 4868). Gray’s political expertise and integrity earned him a solid reputation among his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Before his tenure in Congress, he was a pastor and community activist. Following his tenure in Congress, he led the United Negro College Fund (later known as the College Fund/UNCF). Gray served as President and CEO of the College Fund/UNCF until March 2004. He also served as special adviser to President Clinton on Haiti, which was then embroiled in civil war. Gray earned a bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College, a master’s degree in Divinity from Drew Theological Seminary, and a master’s degree in theology from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Julian C. Dixon

Congressman Julian Dixon was a representative from California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 2000. Before his election to the House, Dixon was a lawyer and California State Assemblyman. In Congress, Dixon served on committees related to defense, congressional ethics, and federal funding. He chaired several committees, including the House Ethics Committee and the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. As Chair of the House Ethics Committee, he led the investigation of House Speaker Jim Wright in 1989. While serving on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, he authored the first sanctions legislation against South Africa. In 1980, he became the first African American to win a subcommittee chairmanship on the Appropriations panel, taking over as head of the District of Columbia Subcommittee. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Dixon sought to bring the District of Columbia’s budget under control while appropriating federal dollars for essential programs. Dixon continued his advocacy in Congress until his death. Dixon served in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of sergeant. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Los Angeles State College and a law degree from Southwestern University School of Law.

George W. Crockett Jr.

Congressman George Crockett represented Michigan’s 13th Congressional District from 1980 to 1991 (96th – 101st Congresses). At age 71, he was the oldest African American ever elected to Congress. Throughout his career, Crockett was a lawyer and judge. He was the first African American lawyer in the U.S. Department of Labor. He had worked as a senior attorney on employment cases brought under the National Labor Relations Act, a legislative program of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. He also was national vice-president of the National Lawyers Guild and co-founded what is believed to be the first racially integrated law firm in the United States. He served on the House Judiciary Committee, the Select Committee on Aging, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Congress. As a member of the Africa Subcommittee, he authored the Mandela Freedom Resolution, HB.430, which called upon the South African government to release Nelson Mandela and his wife Winnie Mandela from imprisonment. Both houses of Congress passed the resolution in 1984. Later, he denounced apartheid in South Africa and was jailed for demonstrating in Washington, DC. Crockett chaired the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs from 1987 until his retirement. Crockett filed suit against the Reagan administration, claiming violation of the War Powers Act in providing El Salvador with military aid. In September 1989, a year before he retired, Crockett made headlines as the first Member of Congress to call for the decriminalization of drugs. Crockett graduated from Morehouse College and University of Michigan Law School.

Harold D. Washington

Congressman Harold Washington represented Illinois’s First Congressional District from 1981 to 1983 (96th – 101st Congresses). Washington was actively engaged in Chicago politics as a lawyer and World War II veteran. Before his congressional election, he served in the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives from 1965 until 1976. Washington spent much of his brief tenure in Congress fighting President Reagan’s proposed budget and tax plans, including spending cuts for social programs. After one term, Washington ran and was elected as Chicago’s first African American mayor, which he served until his death. Washington earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Roosevelt University and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law.

Gus Savage

Congressman Gus Savage represented the Second Congressional District of Illinois from 1981 to 1993 (97th – 102nd Congresses). Savage had been a veteran, civil rights activist, and pioneering African American journalist and publisher. Eventually, he became involved in local politics in Chicago before coming to Congress. During his six terms, he served on the Post Office and Civil Service, Public Works and Transportation, and Small Business committees. Savage chaired the Public Works and Transportation Subcommittee on Economic Development during the 101st and 102nd Congresses (1989 – 1993). His primary concerns were advancing the civil rights of African Americans, often speaking out on Congress’s record on Civil Rights. In one of his final acts as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds, Savage leveraged his reputation as a national political figure to bring attention to the importance of the African Burial Ground in New York City. The site was eventually designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993 and a National Monument in 2006 by President George W. Bush. Savage earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Roosevelt University and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law.

Mervyn M. Dymally

Congressman Mervyn M. Dymally represented California’s 31st District from 1981 to 1993. A longtime member of the California legislature, Dymally was the first Back elected to statewide office. During his 12 years of Congressional tenure, Dymally served on the Foreign Affairs, District of Columbia, the Post Office and Civil Service and Science and Technology committees. Dymally eventually was subcommittee chairman on the Foreign Affairs Committee, where he was an outspoken advocate for international human rights and economic development, particularly in Africa and the Caribbean. He was a vocal critic of apartheid in South Africa and advocated imposing sanctions against the minority–white government. His advocacy in the House also focused on the necessity of economic development. He chaired the District of Columbia’s Subcommittee on Judiciary and Education, supported statehood for the majority-Black city, and increased funding for education programs for minorities. Dymally worked as a foreign affairs consultant for Caribbean, African, and Asian interests upon his retirement. In 2002, he was elected again to the California state assembly. Dymally earned a bachelor’s degree in education from California State University. He also earned an M.A. in government from California State University – Sacramento and a Ph.D. in human behavior from the United States International University (now Alliant International University).

Katie B. Hall

Congresswoman Katie B. Hall represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1982 to 1985 (97th – 98th Congresses). Hall was the first African American from Indiana. Her committee assignments included the Post Office and Civil Service Committee and the Public Works and Transportation Committee. Hall was also a member of the Indiana State House of Representatives and the Indiana State Senate. She received a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi Valley State University and a master’s degree from Indiana University.

Charles A. Hayes

Congressman Charles A. Hayes represented Illinois’s First Congressional District from 1983 to 1993 (98th – 102nd Congresses). Charlie Hayes was the first trade unionist ever elected to Congress. Hayes was on the Committee on Education and Labor and Small Business Committee, sponsoring bills to reduce high unemployment rates, provide disadvantaged youth with job training, and create public works programs to improve the infrastructure of the nation’s cities. He consistently supported legislation to protect American workers through higher wages, restrictions on imports, and more–comprehensive benefits for children and health care. He was known for urging his colleagues in Congress to spare federal job training and anti-poverty programs. Before and after his tenure in Congress, Hayes was active in civil rights and community affairs. Hayes was a civil rights leader who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the 1960s. Hayes was also one of the founding members of Rainbow/PUSH, along with Jesse Jackson. Congressman Hayes was the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists’ (CBTU) first executive vice president, serving until 1986. He was also was one of the labor leaders arrested during the 1980s anti-apartheid protests that eventually won the freedom of Nelson Mandela. Hayes remained active in labor and community affairs until his death.

Alan D. Wheat

Congressman Alan D. Wheat represented Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District from 1983 to 1995 (98th – 103rd Congresses). Before Congress, Wheat worked as an economist for the federal government and local organizations. He also served in the Missouri General Assembly. Wheat received a coveted spot on the House Rules Committee as a freshman in Congress. Wheat’s seat on the Rules Committee was instrumental in allowing him to push significant legislation through the House. For example, in 1989, he helped institute a ban on smoking on most domestic flights by attaching the bill to a routine procedural measure to avoid undue attention from tobacco lobbyists and other opponents. In his position on the Rules Committee, he played an integral part in the passage of the Civil Rights Bill of 1990, a comprehensive measure to combat employment discrimination. Wheat also served on the District of Columbia Committee, chairing the Government Operations and Metropolitan Affairs Subcommittee during his final four terms. He also served on the House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families and the Select Committee on Hunger. Wheat advocated a strong stance on civil rights. He co-sponsored legislation to provide financial assistance to historically Black colleges and universities with other CBC members, and the measure became part of the Higher Education Act of 1992. After his congressional service, Wheat served as vice president of SmithKline Beecham pharmaceutical company and Vice President of public policy and government relations of the global relief organization CARE. He also remained engaged in politics, serving as deputy campaign manager for the Clinton–Gore presidential–election campaign and founding Wheat Government Relations, a political consulting firm in Virginia. Wheat earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Grinnell College.

Major R. Owens

Congressman Major Robert Odell Owens represented Congressional Districts in New York from 1983 to 2007 (98th – 110th Congresses). Trained as a librarian, Owens began his career at the Brooklyn Public Library. He became active in the Congress of Racial Equality and other community groups. He later served in the New York State Senate, where he chaired the senate democratic operations committee. In Congress, Owens became known as “The Librarian In Congress” because of his advocacy for and support of library funding and education issues, particularly public libraries, school libraries, and librarianship. He also shepherded the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 through the House, serving as floor manager and working tirelessly to see its enactment. Following his retirement, the Librarian of Congress announced that Owens would be appointed as a distinguished visiting scholar at The John W. Kluge Center. During his time at The Kluge Center, Owens’s work focused on a case study of the Congressional Black Caucus and its impact on national politics. This work culminated in his book, The Peacock Elite: A Subjective Case Study of the Congressional Black Caucus and Its Impact on National Politics. He also was a senior fellow for the DuBois-Bunche Center for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College. Owens received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and a master’s degree in Library Science from Atlanta University, now known as Clark Atlanta.

Edolphus Towns

Congressman Edolphus Towns represented Congressional Districts in New York from 1983 to 2013 (98th – 113th Congresses). Towns was an Army veteran whose career included serving as a professor, public school teacher, and hospital administrator before his tenure in Congress. Townsend’s Committee assignments included the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Government Operations (later Oversight and Government Reform). Towns led subcommittees of Government Operations that focused on human resource management and efficiency in government, eventually rising to Chair. Towns remained on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during his entire 30-year career in Congress. Having worked as a hospital administrator, Towns hoped to improve access to health services in underserved communities, including Medicare drug coverage and alcohol treatment programs for pregnant women. Other notable accomplishments include his co-sponsorship of legislation to require colleges to report the graduation rates of their student-athletes. The legislation became the Student Right to Know Act, enacted during the 101st Congress (1989 – 1991). During the 107th Congress (2001 – 2003), he introduced a measure that would put sports agents under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission to stop unethical recruitment practices. Towns is a North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University graduate and earned a master’s degree in social work from Adelphi University.

Alton R. Waldon, Jr.

Congressman Alton Waldon represented New York’s Sixth Congressional District from 1986 to 1987 (99th Congress). Before his congressional service, Waldon had served in the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate. During his brief term, Waldon served on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Small Business. He was also very interested in U.S. relations with South Africa. Waldon and other Black members led the fight to override President Ronald W. Reagan’s veto of a bill calling for sanctions against South Africa. Waldon left Congress in January 1987 and was appointed to the New York state investigation commission. Later, he won a seat in the New York state senate and accepted a judicial appointment to the New York court of claims in New York City. Waldon earned a bachelor’s degree from John Jay College and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

John Robert Lewis

Congressman John Robert Lewis represented Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District from 1987 until he died in 2020 (100th – 116th Congresses). Lewis began his public advocacy during the Civil Rights Movement of the mid 20^th century. He was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and was one of the “Big Six” leaders who organized the 1963 March on Washington. He also led the first of three Selma to Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, including Bloody Sunday, when state troopers and police attacked the marchers. Later, Lewis became executive director of the Voter Education Project and testified in front of a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee on the need to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act. For more than three decades in Congress, Lewis served on several committees, including Ways and Means, Public Works and Transportation, Interior and Insular Affairs, House Select Committee on Aging, Budget, and the Joint Committee on Taxation. In addition to his committee responsibilities, Lewis was part of the Democratic whip operation for 30 years. While in the House, Lewis was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party, serving from 1991 as a chief deputy whip and from 2003 as a senior chief deputy whip. When the Voting Rights Act was set to expire in 2007, Lewis was at the forefront of the Democratic effort to reauthorize the legislation and opposed amendments that he said made it harder to register to vote. Notably, Lewis proposed legislation to establish a national museum of African American history in 1991. He worked tirelessly to gather support for the measure. His bill creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, was finally signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2003. The museum opened on the National Mall in 2016. Lewis received many honorary degrees and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. Lewis graduated from the American Baptist Theological Seminary with a bachelor’s degree and earned a degree in religion and philosophy from Fisk University.

Albert M. (Mike) Espy

Congressman Mike Espy represented Mississippi’s Second Congressional District from 1987 to 1993 (100th – 103rd Congresses). Espy was the first African American to represent Mississippi at the federal level since Reconstruction. Before his tenure in Congress, Espy was an attorney with Central Mississippi Legal Services and served as Assistant Secretary of State to Mississippi Legal Services, Assistant Secretary of the State to the Public Lands Division, and Assistant State Attorney General. Once in Congress, Espy served on the Agriculture and Budget Committees. He also served on the Select Committee on Hunger. As a freshman, he sponsored the Lower Mississippi River Valley Delta Development Act, which established a nine-member panel to study the region’s widespread poverty and created a plan for economic development along the banks of the Mississippi River. The governors of participating states (Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois) selected the commission’s members. In his fourth term, Clinton appointed Espy as the 25th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Espy was the first African American and the first Mississippian to receive the appointment. Espy remains engaged in Mississippi politics while working in private legal practice. Espy earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Howard University and a Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law in California.

Kweisi Mfume

Congressman Kweisi Mfume has represented Maryland’s seventh Congressional District since 2020. He also served in the same role from 1987 to 1996 (100th – 104th Congresses). Mfume’s political involvement and community activism in Baltimore are extensive. In addition to his Congressional service, Mfume served on the Baltimore City Council. He served on the Banking and Financial Services Committee in Congress and held the General Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee ranking seat. He also was a member of the Committee on Education and the Small Business Committee. In his third term, he was chosen by the Speaker of the House to serve on the Ethics Committee and the Joint Economic Committee of the House and Senate. He was later elected Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee. Mfume consistently advocated business and civil rights legislation. He co-sponsored and helped pass the Americans with Disabilities Act, strengthened the Equal Credit Opportunity Law, and co-authored and successfully amended the Civil Rights Bill of 1991 to apply its provisions to U.S. citizens working for American-based companies abroad. Mfume left his Congressional seat to become President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAACP in 1996 after being unanimously elected to the post. He served there for nine years. Later he became Executive Director of the National Medical Association (NMA), founded in 1895 as the nation’s oldest African American Medical Association. In 2020, he was re-elected to Congress after winning a special election to fill the remainder of the term vacated by the death of Congressman Elijah Cummings. He serves on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, the Education and Labor Committee, and as Vice-Chair of the Small Business Committee. Mfume earned a bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University and graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a master’s degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in International Studies.

Floyd H. Flake

Congressman Floyd H. Flake represented New York’s Sixth Congressional District from 1987 to 1997 (100th – 105th Congresses). When elected, Flake was new to public office but the pastor of one of the largest churches in New York City, Allen African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church (now The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York). During his tenure, Flake served on the  Banking and Small Business committees. Eventually, Flake rose to Chair the panel’s Subcommittee on General Oversight. Flake effectively used his committee assignments to help steer federal money toward urban renewal projects in his District. In cooperation with other ranking members of the Banking Committee, Flake proposed vital legislation that would later be incorporated into the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act, signed into law in 1994. After leaving Congress, Flake continued to be politically active on such issues as school vouchers. He was appointed president of Wilberforce University in October 2002, after serving six months as interim president. Flake is also the author of several books. Flake earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Wilberforce University and completed graduate work at Payne Theological Seminary before earning his master’s degree in Divinity at the United Theological Seminary.

Craig A. Washington

Congressman Craig Washington represented Texas’s 18th District from 1989 to 1995 (102nd – 103rd Congresses). During his tenure in Congress, he was active on the Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, Government Operations, Judiciary Committees, and the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. Washington’s experience as a defense lawyer and a civil rights activist influenced his work on the Judiciary Committee. He was one of the more vocal opponents of the 1991 Civil Rights Bill, backed by President George H. W. Bush. Bush had vetoed a 1990 bill seeking to reverse a series of Supreme Court decisions that narrowed the scope of laws against employment discrimination based on race, sex, or ethnicity. Washington argued against the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill, which he deemed overly punitive, calling for a greater focus on crime prevention. Washington was particularly concerned about trying juveniles as adults. Following his departure from Congress, Washington resumed practicing law. Washington graduated from Prairie View A&M University and attended Texas Southern University’s law school.

Donald M. Payne

Congressman Donald M. Payne represented New York’s tenth Congressional District from 1989 until he died in 2012 (101st – 112th Congresses). Before being elected to Congress, Payne was a business executive and a teacher. Payne was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he served as Chairman of the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health and the Subcommittee on the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight. Payne was among the members who successfully lobbied to save the Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Africa from elimination. Payne was also instrumental in passing key legislation, including the Goals 2000 initiative to improve elementary and secondary schools; the School-to-Work Opportunities Act; the National Service Act, the establishment of the National Literacy Institute; and funding for Head Start, Pell Grants, Summer Jobs and Student Loans. Payne was assistant Whip throughout his congressional career. Payne completed his undergraduate studies at Seton Hall University and pursued post-graduate studies at Springfield College.

Lucien E. Blackwell

Congressman Lucien E. Blackwell represented Pennsylvania’s Second Congressional District from 1991 to 1995 (102nd – 103rd Congresses). Before his brief time in Congress, Korean War veteran Lucien Blackwell was active in state and local politics, serving in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and on the Philadelphia City Council. Blackwell served on the Public Works and the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committees in the House. In the 103rd Congress, Blackwell traded his Merchant Marine and Fisheries assignment for a coveted position on the Budget Committee. In that role, he remained committed to improving the quality of life of his constituency. He was also an advocate for the benefits of unemployed workers. After his tenure in Congress, Blackwell worked as a lobbyist and remained active with the Democratic Party.

Barbara-Rose Collins

Congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins represented Michigan’s 15th Congressional District from 1991 to 1997 (102nd – 104th Congresses). Her committee assignments included the Public Works and Transportation; Transportation and Infrastructure; Government Operations; Government Reform and Oversight; Post Office and Civil Service; Science, Space, and Technology; and the Select Children, Youth, and Families Committees. She chaired the Postal Operations and Services Subcommittee. In her hometown of Detroit, she has served as a public school board member, city council member, and member of the Michigan House of Representatives. She attended Wayne State University.

Gary A. Franks

Congressman Gary Franks was representative for Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District from 1991 to 1997 (102nd – 104th Congresses). A Republican, Franks served on the Armed Services, Commerce, Select Aging. After Franks lost the election, he returned to his real estate business in Waterbury. Franks was an outspoken opponent of Affirmative Action, arguing against special set-asides for women and minorities. Though a member of the CBC, he often found himself at odds with the view of other members. When Republicans gained a majority in the House in 1994, Franks played a significant role in crafting the GOP welfare reform package the following year. After Franks lost his re-election bid in 1996, he returned to his real estate business in Waterbury. Franks is a graduate of Yale University.

William J. Jefferson

Congressman William J. Jefferson was representative for Louisiana’s Second Congressional District from 1991 to 2009 (102nd – 110th Congresses). Jefferson sat on the Education and Labor and the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committees. Later he served on the powerful Ways and Means, Budget, and Small Business Committees. Jefferson received a bachelor’s degree from Southern University. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army. He also earned a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Later, he received an LLM in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has been a delegate from the District of Columbia since January 3, 1991 (102nd Congress). Norton is the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit and serves on the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She has also served on the Security, Post Office and Civil Service, Small Business, and District of Columbia Committees during her tenure. President Jimmy Carter named Rep. Norton as the first woman to chair the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Rep. Norton has fought tirelessly for full congressional voting representation of District of Columbia residents. She has also been an outspoken advocate for universal human rights. Before her tenure in Congress, Rep. Norton was a nationally known feminist, civil rights leader and law professor. She received a bachelor’s degree from Antioch College and earned law and master’s degrees from Yale University.

Maxine Waters

Congresswoman Maxine Waters has represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 3, 1991 (102nd Congress). Waters made history as the first woman and first African American Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. A key figure in Congressional Democratic Leadership, Congresswoman Waters serves as a Steering & Policy Committee member. She is the Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. As Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, Waters fought tirelessly to mitigate foreclosures and keep American families in their homes. Through two infusions of funds, the Congresswoman secured $6 billion for the program. Waters is also committed to improving health care. She is the author of legislation to expand health services for patients with cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Walters spearheaded the development of the Minority AIDS Initiative in 1998 to address the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS among African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities. Under her leadership, funding for the Minority AIDS Initiative has increased from the initial appropriation of $156 million in 1999 to approximately $400 million per year today. Before her tenure in Congress, she was a member of the California State Assembly. She has been an outspoken advocate for peace, justice and human rights. Congressman Waters received a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles.

Eva M. Clayton

Congresswoman Eva Clayton served as a representative of North Carolina’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1992 to 2003 (102nd – 107th Congresses). She was the first African American woman to be elected to Congress from North Carolina. Her committee assignments included the Agriculture, Small Business, and Budget Committees. She also served as Co-chair of the House Democratic Policy Committee during the 104th Congress. Before her tenure in Congress, Rep. Clayton served as director of the University of North Carolina Health Manpower Development Programs and assistant secretary for community development with the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development. She received a bachelor’s degree from Johnson C. Smith University and a master’s degree from North Carolina Central University.

Melvin J. Reynolds

Congressman Melvin J. Reynolds was representative for Illinois’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 (103rd Congress). He served on the Economic and Educational Opportunities and the Ways and Means Committees. Reynolds earned undergraduate degrees from the City Colleges of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University and won a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he attended Lincoln College and received an LL.B.

Walter R. Tucker III

Congressman Walter R. Tucker was representative for California’s 37th Congressional District from 1993 to 1995 (103rd Congress). Tucker served on the Public Works and Transportation, Small Business, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. Before Congress, Tucker was deputy district attorney in Los Angeles and later a criminal defense attorney. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Political Science and earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Cleo Fields

Congressman Cleo Fields was representative for Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1997 (103rd – 104th Congresses). At the time of his election, he served as the youngest member of the 103rd Congress. Before Congress, Fields had been the youngest states legislator ever elected in Louisiana at age 24. During his tenure in the House, Fields served on the Small Business Committee and the Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs Committee. In 1995, Fields earned the highest marks in the Louisiana delegation for his liberal voting record, citing his support for gun control, abortion, and social spending. He would later return to the Louisiana State Senate and private legal practice. Fields received his undergraduate and law degrees from Southern University in Baton Rouge.

Carol Moseley-Braun

Senator Carol Moseley-Braun was Senator from Illinois from 1993 to 1999 (103rd – 105th Congresses). While a Senator, she served on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Judiciary; Small Business; Finance; and Special Aging Committees. Before her tenure in the U.S. Congress, Sen. Moseley-Braun served in the Illinois House of Representatives and as a prosecutor in the office of the United States Attorney in Chicago. Later, Sen. Moseley-Braun was an Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. In 2004, she was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and a law degree from University of Chicago School of Law.

Carrie P. Meek

Congresswoman Carrie Meek was representative of Florida’s 17th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003 (103rd – 107th Congresses). Her committee assignments included the Government Reform and Oversight, Budget, and Appropriations Committees. Meek is an educational administrator and educational consultant who was a member of the Florida State House of Representatives and the Florida State Senate. She was also a board member of the Health System-Health Planning Council and the Minority Business Enterprise Committee on Transportation and Chair of the Park for People Program in Miami, Florida. Meek received a bachelor’s degree from Florida Agricultural & MIning University and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan. She is the mother of Congressman Kendrick Meek.

Earl F. Hilliard

Congressman Earl F. Hilliard was representative for Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003 (103rd – 107th Congresses). Before Congress, Hilliard served in the Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama Senate. He served on the Agriculture, Small Business, and International Relations Committees during his congressional tenure. Hilliard’s initial focus in Congress was creating economic opportunities, particularly for his constituents in the South. Hilliard attempted to assist the rural regions of his district by submitting legislation to establish a Southern Rural Development Commission, which he modeled on the Appalachian Regional Commission. The commission aimed to dispense federal money to projects enhancing economic development, improving health care and offering job training. Hilliard attempted to protect and expand the Alabama military installations used by the U.S. Army and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, suggesting closing American military bases in Germany and Japan to make more funding available for domestic military installations. He received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College, a Juris Doctor from Howard University, and an M.B.A. from Atlanta University.

Cynthia A. McKinney

Congresswoman Cynthia A. McKinney was representative of Georgia’s 4th Congressional District from 1993 to 2003 (103rd – 107th Congresses) and again during the 109th Congress (2005 – 2006). She was the first African American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives from Georgia. Her committee assignments included the Banking and Financial Services; Agriculture; Foreign Affairs; International Relations; National Security; Armed Forces; and Budget Committees. Rep. McKinney has been an outspoken advocate for human rights, voting rights and government accountability. Before her tenure in the United States House of Representatives, Rep. McKinney was a member of the Georgia State Legislature. She has also been a fellow and faculty member at several universities. Rep. McKinney received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Albert R. Wynn

Congressman Albert Wynn was representative for Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2008 (103rd – 110th Congresses ). Wynn served on the Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs (later named Financial Services), Foreign Affairs, and Post Office and Civil Service. In the 105th Congress, Wynn accepted a post on the prestigious Commerce Committee (later named Energy and Commerce), requiring him to yield his prior assignments. Later, he was appointed chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials. Wynn was a leading advocate for protecting federal salaries and pensions and creating more federal contracts for minority businesses and small businesses. Wynn earned degrees at the University of Pittsburgh, Howard University, and Georgetown University Law Center.

Melvin L. Watt

Congressman Mel Watt was representative for North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District from 1993 to 2014 (103rd – 113th Congresses). Before coming to Congress, Watt was an attorney specializing in minority business and economic development law. In Congress, Watt served on the Committee on Financial Services (Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and Insurance Housing and Community Opportunity Committee) and the Committee on the Judiciary (Subcommittee of Commercial and Administrative Law). He was the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet. He also served on the Joint Economic Committee. From his position on the Judiciary Committee, Watt used his experience as a former attorney specializing in minority rights. He took a lead role in negotiating the 2006 extension of the Voting Rights Act (H.R. 9), which passed by a vote of 390 to 33 in the House and unanimous support in the Senate. He was also instrumental in supporting the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the 111th Congress (2009–2011), which aimed to improve regulations and transparency in the financial services industry in the wake of the Great Recession. Watt retired from Congress when President Obama appointed him to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Watt earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

Alcee L. Hastings

Congressman Alcee Hastings was a representative from Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 until he died in 2021 (103rd – 117th Congresses). Before Congress, Hastings was a District Court judge in Florida. He was the first African American federal judge in the state of Florida. In Congress. Hastings served on the Foreign Affairs, International Relations, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Post Office and Civil Service, Science and Rules Committees. He was Chair of the Legislative and Budget Process on the Rules Committee. Hastings earned his bachelor’s degree in zoology and botany from Fisk and received his Juris Doctor from Florida Agricultural & MIning University College of Law.

Bennie G. Thompson

Congressman Bennie G. Thompson has been a representative for Mississippi’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 (103rd Congress). Congressman Bennie G. Thompson is the longest-serving African American elected official from Mississippi and the lone Democrat in the Mississippi Congressional Delegation, where he is dean. Before coming to Congress, Thompson served as alderman and mayor of his hometown, and he was a founding member of the Mississippi Association of Black Mayors. In Congress, Thompson is Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security and the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. The Congressman has also served on the Agriculture, Budget, and Small Business Committees. In 2000, he authored legislation creating the National Center for Minority Health and Health Care Disparities, which subsequently became law. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he pushed for greater accountability at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Thompson is the founding member of the bipartisan Gulf Coast Recovery & Rebuilding Caucus in the House of Representatives. As Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security, Thompson introduced and engineered the passage of the most comprehensive homeland security package since September 11, 2001 – H.R. 1, the “9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007.” Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Tougaloo College and a master’s degree in Educational Administration from Jackson State University.

Bobby L. Rush

Congressman Bobby L. Rush has been a representative for Illinois’s First Congressional District since 1993 (103rd Congress). Former Black Panther and U.S. Army veteran, Rush served as an alderman, Chicago City Council member, and Deputy Chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party before coming to Congress. Rush has served in Congress for nearly three decades. He currently serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, where he serves on the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and is Chair of the Subcommittee on Energy. Rush has introduced essential pieces of legislation that became law, including the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-314). He has also introduced legislation to support women’s health. As Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Energy Subcommittee, one of Rush’s top priorities has been increasing opportunities for minorities within all energy industry sectors. He has introduced the 21st Century Energy Workforce Development Jobs Initiative Act (H.R. 338), a comprehensive program to improve the education and training of workers, particularly women and minorities, for energy-related jobs. Rush also serves on the House Agriculture Committee. Rush is pastor of the Beloved Community Christian Church of God in Christ in Chicago. Rush earned his bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt University and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also completed a degree in Theological Studies at McCormick Theological Seminary.

Robert (Bobby) C. Scott

Congressman Bobby Scott has been a representative for Virginia’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 (103rd Congress). Congressman Scott was the first African American elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Virginia since Reconstruction and only the second African American elected to Congress in Virginia’s history. Having a maternal grandfather of Filipino ancestry also makes him the first American with Filipino ancestry to serve as a voting member of Congress. Before coming to Congress, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia. Congressman Scott currently serves as Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee. In 2015, he was one of the four primary authors of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for the first time in 13 years and replaced the No Child Left Behind Act. Additionally, in 2017, he worked to secure the passage of legislation to reform and update our nation’s career and technical education system and the juvenile justice system in 2018, which were both signed into law. Congressman Scott also serves on the Committee on the Budget. The Committee also has jurisdiction over budget process laws and tracks the budgetary effects of legislative action. He previously served on the Committee on the Judiciary and was a ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution. He is a former Chairman and Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, where he was Chairman and Ranking Member. Congressman Scott is also a leading advocate for criminal justice reform. He sponsored the Death in Custody Reporting Act, which was initially signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000. Its subsequent reauthorization was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2014. Scott received his bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard College and his Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School.

Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.

Congressman Sanford D. Bishop has been representative for Georgia’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 (103rd Congress). Before his tenure in Congress, Bishop was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate. Bishop has represented his district in Congress for nearly thirty years. He is the Chair of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. Bishop also serves on the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee and is Vice-Chair on the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. He recently returned to serve on the House Agriculture Committee. He is a member of the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee and the Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee. Serving a primarily agricultural district, Bishop has fought to protect federal farm programs and preserve the federal price supports for peanuts, southwest Georgia’s most important crop. Bishop has also served on the House Committee on Appropriations. At the start of the 116th Congress, he was elected by his colleagues to serve as the Chair of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. He also serves as a senior member of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee and serves on the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee. A U.S. Army veteran, Bishop has introduced vital pieces of legislation to protect veterans, including the Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act. In the 112th Congress, he was the lead House sponsor of the Hiring Heroes Act, which improves programs helping individuals transition from service members to civilian employees. Bishop earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Morehouse College and a Juris Doctor degree from Emory University School of Law.

Corrine Brown

Congresswoman Corrine Brown represented Florida’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2017 (103rd – 117th Congresses). Before her tenure in Congress, Rep. Brown served for ten years in the Florida House of Representatives and was a faculty member at several colleges and universities in Florida. Brown served on the Public Works and Transportation, Government Operations, Veterans’ Affairs, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. She retained her seat on Public Works and Transportation (later named Transportation and Infrastructure) for her entire career. Brown chaired the Transportation’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials during the 110th and 111th Congresses (2007 – 2011). Brown worked to bring federal programs to her Jacksonville district during her congressional career using her seats on the Transportation and Infrastructure and the Veterans’ Affairs Committees. Rep. Brown earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida Agricultural & Mining University She also received a master’s degree and an education specialist degree from the University of Florida and an honorary doctor of law degree from Edward Waters College.

Eddie Bernice Johnson

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has represented the 30th Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 (103rd Congress). She was the first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives from the Dallas area. She is also the first nurse elected to the U.S. Congress. Before her tenure in Congress, Johnson served in the Texas State House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. She made history as the first woman in Texas to lead a major Texas House committee. She currently serves as Chair of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and is a Senior Member of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Johnson is a member of the Science Committee (formerly Science, Space, and Technology) and was the first African American woman to chair that Committee. Rep. Johnson has been outspoken on several issues, including science, technology, transportation, election reform and civil rights. Congresswoman Johnson earned a nursing certificate from St. Mary’s College at the University of Notre Dame. She also earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University and a master’s degree from Southern Methodist University.

James E. Clyburn

Congressman James E. Clyburn has represented South Carolina’s Sixth Congressional District since 1993 (103rd Congress-Present). Clyburn has been the House Majority Whip since 2019 and served previously in the same role from 2007 to 2009. He is the third-ranking Democrat in the United States House of Representatives. Before Congress, Clyburn was an educator and Human Affairs Commissioner for South Carolina. In Congress, he has served on several Committees, including Appropriations, Public Works and Transportation, Small Business, Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans’ Affairs, and Oversight and Reform. Clyburn is Chair of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. Clyburn has championed rural and economic development, and many of his initiatives have become law. His 10-20-30 federal funding formula was included in four sections of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Congressman Clyburn is also a passionate supporter of historic preservation and restoration programs. His efforts have restored scores of historic buildings and sites on the campuses of historically Black colleges and universities. His legislation created the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor and the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, elevated the Congaree National Monument to a National Park, and established the Reconstruction Era National Monument in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Clyburn graduated with a bachelor’s degree in History from South Carolina State College (now South Carolina State University).

Donna Christian-Christensen

Congresswoman Donna M. Christian-Christensen was a delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2015 (105th Congress – 113th Congress). Before her tenure in Congress, Christensen was an emergency room physician; a physician at a Clinic; a staff physician at the Maternal & Child Health Program; Medical Director of the Nesbitt Clinic in Frederiksted; Director of the Frederiksted Health Center; Director of Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning; Medical Director of the St. Croix Hospital and Territorial Assistant Commissioner of Health; and as the Acting Commissioner of Health. She also served as Democratic National Committeewoman and Vice-Chair of the Territorial Committee of the Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands and on the Platform Committee of the Democratic National Committee. She is the first female physician in the history of the U.S. Congress, the first woman to represent an offshore territory, and the first woman delegate from the United States Virgin Islands. She served on the Resources, Small Business, and Homeland Security Committees. She was Chair of the Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, which oversees offshore territories and free associated states. She is the only African American on the Natural Resources Committee and a member of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. In Congress, she fought to increase access to health care. Notably, she strongly supported Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Christensen earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame and a medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Victor O. Frazer

Congressman Victor O. Frazer was a delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands’ at-large Congressional District from 1995 to 1997 (104th Congress). Before Congress, Frazer worked as a lawyer and later served as general counsel for the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority. Frazer acquired congressional experience as an administrative assistant for California Representative Mervyn Dymally, a special assistant for Michigan Representative John Conyers, and counsel for the House Committee on the District of Columbia. Frazer served on the House Committee on International Relations and used his single term in Congress to draw attention to the need of his constituents in the Virgin Islands. He focused on procuring federal money for hurricane relief and attracting tourism to the eastern Caribbean. Frazer attended Fisk University and the Howard University School of Law.

C. Watts, Jr.

Congressman J.C. Watts was representative for Oklahoma’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003 (104th – 107th Congress). He was the first Black representative elected from Oklahoma and the first Republican to win the district in 72 years. Before Congress, Watts was a minister and entrepreneur. He also served as Chair of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. In Congress, Watts served on the Banking and Financial Services Committee and National Security Committee (later renamed Armed Services), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He also served as Chair of the House Republican Conference from 1999 to 2003. Representative Watts supported a fiscally conservative agenda, and his legislative emphasis was based on his belief that public assistance programs encouraged dependency in poor minorities. He was not a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.  Watts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in journalism.

Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.

Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr was representative for Illinois’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2012 (104th -112th Congress). Before entering the House, he became secretary of the Democratic National Committee’s Black Caucus, the national field director of the National Rainbow Coalition and a member of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Jackson served on the Banking and Financial Services Committee,  Small Business Committee, and Appropriations Committee in Congress. From 2007 through 2012, Representative Jackson served as the second-ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. He also served on the Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. Each Congress, Representative Jackson introduced several constitutional amendments for the right to vote, the right to a high-quality education, and the right to high-quality health care. From his seat on the Appropriations Committee, Representative Jackson was the driving force behind increasing the funding for the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative from $166 million in 1998 to more than $400 million by 2007, and he also supported increased funding for historically Black schools for medical and health professions. He directed the effort to create the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health in 2001. Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina A&T University and a master’s degree from Chicago Theological Seminary. He also earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law.

Chaka Fattah

Congressman Chaka Fattah was representative for Pennsylvania’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2016 (104th – 114th Congress). Before Congress, Fattah served in the Pennsylvania Senate and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In Congress, Fattah served on several House committees, including Appropriations, Economic and Educational Opportunities, Education and the Workforce, Government Reform and Oversight, House administration, Small Business, Standards of Official Conduct, and Joint Committee on Printing. Early in his tenure, Fattah introduced and passed into law the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), a college awareness and preparedness program. Since its inception, more than $4 billion in federal funds have been distributed to assist 12 million students in 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Fattah’s primary legislative interest as a state legislator had been to open access to quality educational opportunities for minority students, and he continued that effort in the House. His most significant legislative success came in the 105th Congress (1997–1999) when he submitted H.R. 777, the 21st Century Scholars Act, which directed federal funds to prepare low-income students to enter college through a competitive grant program that provided six to seven years of financial support. Fattah earned a bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He received his master’s degree in Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government.

Sheila Jackson Lee

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has represented the 18th Congressional District of Texas since 1995 (104th Congress). Before her career in Congress, Lee served as Staff Counsel for the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations, as a municipal judge for three years, and was an at-large member of the Houston City Council. Lee is a senior member of the House Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security and was newly appointed by the leadership as a Member of the Budget Committee. She is currently the first female Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee for Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. She leads the way in criminal justice reform through groundbreaking legislation, including the Sentencing Reform Act, Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act, The RAISE Act, The Fair Chance for Youth Act, Kaleif’s Law, and the American RISING Act of 2015. She is the past Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee for Maritime and Border Security, wherein she co-authored HR 1417, a bipartisan bill that has been touted as the best vehicle for accomplishing comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. House of Representatives. Congresswoman Jackson Lee is also the past Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection. Under her leadership, she passed the Transportation Security Act of 2007, which increased America’s transportation security funding. Jackson Lee received a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a law degree from the University of Virginia Law School.

Juanita Millender-McDonald

Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald served as a representative of California’s 37th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1996 until she died of cancer on April 22, 2007. Millender-McDonald was the first African American woman appointed Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration and served as committee chair during the first session of the 110th Congress. She also served on the Transportation and Infrastructure and Small Business Committees and the Joint Printing and Joint Library Committees, chairing both Joint Committees during the first session of the 110th Congress. In addition, she was Regional Democratic Whip and Co-Chair of the Democratic Caucus for Women. Rep. Millender-McDonald was active in many legislative areas, including education, childcare, drug abuse, and health. Before Congress, she was a member of the California State Assembly. Millender-McDonald was the first African American woman elected to the Carson City Council and became Carson City’s Mayor pro tem in 1991. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands and a master’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles.

Elijah E. Cummings

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings was a representative for Maryland’s Seventh Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1996 to 2019 (104th – 116th Congress). Cummings previously served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1983 to 1996. He served as Chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. He was the first African American in Maryland history named Speaker Pro Tempore, the second-highest position in the House of Delegates. Cummings served as the Chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform from January 2019 until his death in October of the same year. Early in his tenure in Congress, Cummings served on the Government Reform and Oversight Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He remained on both panels for his entire career. Cummings also served on the Committee on Armed Services, the Joint Economic Committee, and was the Chair of Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. From 2014 to 2016, he served as the ranking minority member on the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Attack in Benghazi. Cummings graduated from Howard University in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law with a Juris Doctor.

Harold E. Ford, Jr.

Congressman Harold E. Ford, Jr. was a representative for Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2007 (105th – 109th Congresses). After his father, Harold Ford, Sr., announced his retirement from the House in 1996, Ford ran to succeed him, making him the first African American to succeed a parent in Congress. When he was elected, he was one of the youngest members of Congress in U.S. history and the youngest in the 105th and 106th Congresses. Before Congress, he was a staff aide for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget and a special assistant at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In Congress, he served on Education and the Workforce, Government Reform and Oversight, Financial Services, and the Budget Committees. After his tenure in Congress, Ford served as a visiting professor, Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and at Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley as a managing director. He earned a bachelor’s degree in American history from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan School of Law.

Julia M. Carson

Congresswoman Julia M. Carson represented the Seventh Congressional District of Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 until her death from lung cancer on December 15, 2007 (105th – 110th Congresses). She was the first woman and first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives from Indianapolis. Her committee assignments included the Banking and Financial Services, Financial Services, Veterans’ Affairs, and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. Rep. Carson was a leading advocate of legislation designed to end homelessness in the United States by addressing the housing, health, and income needs of people experiencing homelessness and families at risk of homelessness. Before her tenure in Congress, Rep. Carson served in the Indiana General Assembly and as a Center Township Trustee. She attended Martin University and Indiana University-Purdue University.

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick

Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick represented Michigan’s 13th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 through 2011 (105th – 111th Congresses). Kilpatrick’s committee assignments included the House Banking and Financial Services and House Oversight and Appropriations Committees, and the Joint Committee on the Library. Rep. Kilpatrick was selected as the first Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee during the 109th Congress and served as the Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus in the 110th Congress (2007 – 2009). She was also the first African American Member of Congress appointed to the United States Air Force Academy Board. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Kilpatrick played an essential role in determining funding for federal programs. Before her congressional tenure, Kilpatrick was a teacher and member of the Michigan State House of Representatives. She was the first African American woman to serve on the Michigan House Appropriations Committee. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan.

Danny K. Davis

Congressman Danny K. Davis has represented Illinois’s Seventh Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997 (105th Congress). Before coming to Congress, he was an educator and served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the Chicago City Council. Davis currently serves on the Oversight and Reform Committee and Ways and Means Committee. He is the Chairman of the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee and the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and District of Columbia. Past committee assignments have included the Education and Labor, Education and the Workforce, Homeland Security, Small Business committees. Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff), a master’s degree in guidance from Chicago State University, and a Ph.D. in public administration from Union Institute & University.

Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee has been representative of California’s Ninth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1998 (105th Congress). Before her tenure in Congress, Rep. Lee served as Chief of Staff for Congressman Ron Dellums. She also served in both the California State Assembly and California State Senate. Rep. Currently, Congresswoman Lee serves on the Budget Committee and the powerful Appropriations Committee, which oversees all federal government spending. She serves on three subcommittees (Chair, State and Foreign Operations; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education; and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration) of the Appropriations Committee. In January 2021, she became the first African American to chair the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. Congresswoman Lee is the highest-ranking African American woman in Democratic Leadership, serving as Co-Chair of the Policy and Steering Committee. As Co-Chair, Rep. Lee works to ensure that committees reflect the diversity, dynamism, and integrity of the Democratic Caucus. Notably, Lee has played a significant role in the antiwar movement, notably in her vocal criticism of the Iraq War and, following the September 11 attacks, for being the only member of Congress to vote against the authorization of the use of force. Lee received a bachelor’s degree from Mills College and a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of California, Berkeley.

Gregory W. Meeks

Congressman Gregory W. Meeks has represented New York since 1998 (105th Congress). Before Congress, Meeks worked as an Assistant District Attorney and for the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York and the Investigations Commission on official misconduct and organized crime. He was also a member of the New York State Assembly. Currently, Meeks is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the first Black Member of Congress to serve as Chair of that committee. He also serves on the Financial Services Committee, where he served as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions. Rep. Meeks previously served as a Dodd-Frank conferee. Key provisions in the Wall Street reform law – including its stress testing requirement, the creation of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at the financial regulatory agencies, and the requirement that U.S. public companies who use natural resources to report their due diligence in stamping out conflict minerals– were co-authored by Congressman Meeks. Rep. Meeks introduced a bill that would require government contractors and public companies to submit data on the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of their corporate boards. Meeks earned a bachelor’s degree from Adelphi University and his Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones represented Ohio’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 until she died on August 20, 2008 (106th Congress – 110th Congress). Jones was the first African American woman elected to the House from Ohio. Her committee assignments included the Banking and Financial Services (now named Financial Services), Small Business, Ways and Means, and Standards of Official Conduct Committees. She served as Chair of the Standards of Official Conduct Committee for the 110th Congress. Rep. Jones also served as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus’ Housing Task Force. She was a strong advocate for economic development, accessible health care and quality public education. Before her tenure as a U.S. Representative, she was County Prosecutor and a Common Pleas and Municipal Court Judge in Cleveland, Ohio. Congresswoman Jones earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University.

Diane E. Watson

Congresswoman Watson served as representative of California’s 33rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2011 (107th – 111th Congress). Watson’s committee assignments included the Government Reform and International Relations Committees. Before her tenure in Congress, Congresswoman Watson was the first African American woman to serve on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. She also served in the California State Senate for several years. Congresswoman Watson has been tireless in her efforts to improve health care and the lives of women and children. Congresswoman Watson received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles. She earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Claremont Graduate University and has attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

William Lacy Clay, Jr.

Congressman William Lacy Clay, Jr. was a representative for Missouri’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2021 (107th – 116th Congresses). Clay won election to Congress following the retirement of his father, William Clay, Sr. Before Congress, Clay served in the Missouri House of Representatives and the Missouri Senate. During Clay’s 17 years in the Missouri legislature, he authored Missouri’s Hate Crimes Law, which included gender, sexual orientation and sexual identity in the criteria for what constitutes a hate crime.  During his Congressional tenure, Clay served on the Financial Services, Government Reform, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Reform Committees. He was Chair of the Financial Services’ Housing, Community Development, and Insurance Subcommittee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committees’ Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Subcommittee. Clay earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a paralegal certificate from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is also a graduate of Howard University School of Law.

David Scott

Congressman David Scott has represented Georgia’s 13th Congressional District since 2003 (108th Congress – Present). Before Congress, Scott served in the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia State Senate. Scott serves on the Financial Services Committee and is Chair of the House Agriculture Committee.  He has authored several laws, including student loan repayment assistance for law students who become public prosecutors and defenders so that those top candidates will be attracted to public service. Congressman Scott secured $80 million in funding in the 2018 Farm Bill for agriculture-focused scholarships at the 19 Historically Black 1890s Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. As a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, Congressman Scott has stood with homeowners and neighborhoods during the financial crisis.  He worked to enact the program to provide struggling homeowners who are unemployed with up to 18 months of mortgage assistance. He also helped create the Home Assistance Mortgage Program (HAMP), the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), and the Making Home Affordable Program.  Congressman Scott authored a law to allow insurance agents and brokers to have multi-state insurance licensing, which will provide more options for consumers. Scott received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida Agricultural & Mining University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

George Kenneth (G.K.) Butterfield

Congressman G.K. Butterfield has represented North Carolina’s first Congressional District since 2004 (108th Congress). Before his tenure in Congress, Butterfield was a civil rights attorney and Superior Court Judge in North Carolina. Congressman Butterfield serves on the Committee on Energy & Commerce. Congressman Butterfield sits on the Subcommittees on Communications and Technology; Energy; and Health. Previously, he served as Ranking Member of the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee. He also serves on the Committee on House Administration and the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library. He has served on the House Energy and Commerce Committees’ Communications & Technology, Health, and Energy Subcommittees. He is Chair of the Committee on House Administrations’ Subcommittee on Elections. He has also served on the Agriculture, Armed Forces, and Small Business Committees. For the 117th Congress, Congressman Butterfield was elevated to replace the late-Congressman John Lewis as a Senior Chief Deputy Whip working with the Democratic leadership to help formulate policy and rally support for the Caucus’ legislative priorities on the House Floor. Butterfield is the first Democrat from North Carolina to serve in this role. Butterfield also serves on the committee that was a key architect of the Affordable Care Act and has been an outspoken opponent of any attempts to repeal the law. Butterfield champions affordable health care, education, investments in rural communities, veterans, renewable energies, and federal programs that support low-income and middle-class Americans. Butterfield, a U.S. Army vet, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology from North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and received a Juris Doctor degree from the NCCU School of Law.

Frank W. Ballance, Jr.

Congressman Frank W. Ballance represented North Carolina’s First Congressional District from 2003 to 2004 (108th Congress). Before his tenure in Congress, Ballance worked as an attorney, eventually serving in the North Carolina State House of Representatives and the North Carolina Senate. In Congress, he served on the Agriculture and Small Business Committees. Ballance attended North Carolina Central University, earning a bachelor’s degree and a law degree.

Artur Davis

Congressman Artur Davis represented Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District from 2003 to 2011 (108th -111th Congresses). Before Congress, Davis was an Assistant U.S. District Attorney. In Congress, he served on the Budget, Financial Services, House Administration, Judiciary, and Ways and Means Committees. Davis’s legislative agenda focused on schools, medical care, and transportation infrastructure. Davis graduated from Harvard University and earned a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Kendrick Meek

Congressman Kendrick Meek represented Florida’s 17th Congressional District from 2003 to 2011 (108th -111th Congresses). Meek was elected to serve a district formerly represented by his mother, Carrie Meek. Before Congress, Meek served in the Florida State House of Representatives and Florida State Senate. During his congressional tenure, Meek served in the Ways and Means, Homeland Security, and Armed Services Committees. As part of the Armed Services Committee, he pushed for better equipping troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. In January 2007, Meek was appointed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly, an inter-parliamentary organization of legislators representing NATO Members and associate countries. Meek received a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Florida Agricultural & Mining University

Denise L. Majette

Congresswoman Majette served as a representative of Georgia from January 7, 2003, to January 3, 2005 (108th Congress). She served on the Budget, Education and Workforce and Small Business Committees. A lawyer and professor, Majette served as a judge for the Georgia State Court for nearly ten years. Majette received her bachelor’s degree from Yale University and her law degree from Wake Forest Law School.

Al Green

Congressman Al Green has represented Texas’ ninth Congressional District since 2005 (109th Congress). Before Congress, Green was a lawyer and served as justice of the peace for 26 years. Green serves on the Financial Services Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security. On the Financial Services Committee, he serves on three subcommittees: Diversity and Inclusion, Housing, Community Development and Insurance, and Oversight and Investigations, where he holds the position of Chair. On the Committee on Homeland Security, he serves on two subcommittees: Emergency Preparedness, Response, & Recovery and Border Security, Facilitation, & Operations. Within the Democratic Party, he holds the position of Assistant Whip. Green has focused on the same issues he worked on at the Houston NAACP: fair housing and fair hiring practices for the poor and minorities. Green attended Florida Agricultural & Mining University and Tuskegee University and received a Juris Doctor degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.

Emanuel Cleaver

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver has represented Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005 (109th Congress). Before Congress, Cleaver served on the City Council and was the first African American mayor of Kansas City. In Congress, he is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services; Chair of the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance; member of Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets; member of Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations; member of the House Committee on Homeland Security; member of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security; and member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. In 2016, as Ranking Member of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, Cleaver successfully co-authored the largest sweeping reform bill on housing programs in 20 years, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act. This bipartisan comprehensive housing bill was passed into law with a unanimous vote. Cleaver graduated from Prairie View A&M University and received a Master of Divinity degree from St. Paul School of Theology.

Gwen Moore

Congresswoman Gwen Moore has served as a representative of Wisconsin’s Fourth Congressional District since 2005 (109th Congress). Before her tenure in Congress, Rep. Moore served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1989 to 1992 and in the State Senate from 1993 to 2003. She was also a housing officer with the Wisconsin Housing and Development Authority. Congresswoman Moore serves on the Ways and Means Committee. She is a member of the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee, working to create a more fair and progressive tax code that provides Americans greater opportunity and financial security. And she oversees a range of critical supports for workers, children, and families as a member of the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee and Social Security Subcommittee. She is also a House Science, Space, and Technology Committee member. She serves on the Research and Technology Subcommittee and the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee. She received her bachelor’s degree from Marquette University and earned a Harvard University Certificate for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama was the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Obama was the first African American President of the United States. Obama served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004. Before Congress, Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago, a civil rights attorney, and an academic, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. Obama earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University. He also earned a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, where he was the first Black President of the Harvard Law Review.

Donna F. Edwards

Congresswoman Donna Edwards represented Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2008 to 2017. (110th – 114th Congresses). She was the first African American woman to represent Maryland. Before serving in Congress, Edwards was the executive director of the Arca Foundation in Washington, DC. She was appointed to the Science and Technology Committee (which was renamed Science, Space, and Technology in 2011). She served on two subcommittees: Space (where she later became a ranking member) and Environment. Edwards also had a seat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and served on three subcommittees: Highways and Transit; Water Resources and Environment; and Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. She also served on the Ethics Committee. Edwards used her seat on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee to support funding for NASA and to give a boost to measures encouraging minority education in science and mathematics. Rep. Edwards earned a degree from Wake Forest University and received her Juris Doctor from the University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly the Franklin Pierce Law Center).

André Carson

Congressman André Carson has represented Indiana’s Seventh Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2008 (110th Congress). Before taking office, Congressman Carson served on the Indianapolis City-County Council and worked full-time in law enforcement. He also worked in intelligence and counter-terrorism for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and served at the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center. In Congress, Carson serves as the Chair of the Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee and as a member of the Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research Subcommittee on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). He also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, sitting on the Aviation and the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittees. During the 116th Congress, Carson served as a Senior Whip for the House Democratic Caucus. Congressman Carson has authored six bills that have been signed into law: The Service Members Mental Health Screening Act, which ensures a more holistic evaluation of mental health assessments before and after deployment; the Military Families Financial Preparedness Act, which provides service members and their spouses with financial counseling before leaving the military; the Military Suicide Reduction Act, which provides mid-deployment mental health assessments to service members deployed in combat; the Military Mental Health Empowerment Act, which seeks to end dangerous misperceptions that discourage mental health treatment by ensuring service members are aware of their privacy rights; the Kennedy-King Establishment Act, which designates Martin Luther King Park in Indianapolis as a National Commemorative Site, and adds it to the new National Civil Rights Network; and the Ariel Rios Federal Building Act. Carson received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and management from Concordia University Wisconsin, and a master’s degree in business management from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Henry C. (Hank) Johnson

Congressman Hank Johnson has represented Georgia’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007 (110th Congress). Before his tenure in Congress, Johnson was a lawyer and served as a magistrate’s court judge before being elected to the DeKalb County Commission. Congressman Johnson is a member of the Judiciary Committee. His Judiciary subcommittee assignments include Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet (Chair); Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law; Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. He is the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. He also serves on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I) and Committee on Oversight & Reform. Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) and a Juris Doctor degree from Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Yvette D. Clarke

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke has represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007 (109th Congress). Before her election to the United States House of Representatives in 2006, Rep. Clarke was a New York City Council member. She was first elected to city service in 2001, succeeding former City Councilmember Dr. Una S.T. Clarke, making them the first mother-daughter succession in the history of the New York City Council. Clarke is Chair of the Homeland Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation Subcommittee, under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and is Vice-Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee. She also serves on the Committee on Small Business and is active on the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access and the Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce. In the 116th Congress, Clarke introduced landmark legislation, the Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6). This legislation would give 2.5 million DREAMers, temporary protected status and deferred enforcement departure recipients a clear citizenship pathway. Congresswoman Clarke attended Oberlin College and was a recipient of the prestigious APPAH/Sloan Fellowship in Public Policy and Policy Analysis.

Laura Richardson

Congresswoman Laura Richardson represented California’s 37th Congressional District California in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013 (110th Congress-112th Congress). Richardson set a record of distinction in having served all three levels of government, local, state, and federal in less than a year. Once elected, Richardson was assigned to serve on the influential Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Committee on Science and Technology. Congresswoman Richardson began her public service career in 2000 as a Long Beach City Councilwoman. In 2006, Richardson won a seat in the California Assembly in the 55th District, serving as Assistant Pro Tempore in the Assembly. She was the first South Bay representative, freshman, and African American woman to hold this prestigious position. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MBA from Southern California.

Keith Ellison

Congressman Keith Ellison represented Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District from 2007 to 2019 (110th – 115th Congresses). Before Congress, Ellison was a lawyer and served as executive director of the Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis. Ellison served on the Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, and Judiciary Committees in Congress. Ellison served on the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which makes committee assignments, and was named a national chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. During his congressional tenure, banking and financial services industry reform was one of the many issues Ellison supported. Ellison’s Money Remittances Improvement Act also became law in 2014. The bill streamlined the regulation of money transfers and brought federal regulatory practices in line with state banking agencies. The law eased money transfers between the United States and other countries, particularly for immigrants in America who sent money to support families overseas. During the 115th Congress, Ellison introduced legislation that would have provided expanded access to affordable credit to millions of low-income and minority households and would have amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act to allow people to report specific positive consumer credit data—including rent or utility payment history—to consumer reporting agencies. Ellison also frequently addressed bigotry and discrimination against American Muslims. Ellison is currently the Attorney General of Minnesota. When elected, he was the first African American elected to statewide office in Minnesota and the first Muslim elected to statewide office anywhere in the country. Ellison earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wayne State University and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Marcia L. Fudge

Congresswoman Marica Fudge represented Ohio’s 11th District Congressional District from 2008 to 2021 (110th -116th Congresses). She was elected in a special election upon the death of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Before her tenure in Congress, Rep. Fudge worked as a lawyer and in the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office as Director of Budget and Finance. She was the first woman and first African American to serve as mayor of the City of Warrensville Heights, Ohio. She was also the past National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In Congress, she served on the Committee on Agriculture, where she was the Chair of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations.  She was also on the Committee on House Administration, where she was the Chair of the Subcommittee on Elections. She was also on the Committee on Education and Labor. She was the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education. Fudge resigned from the House of Representatives after being confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on March 10, 2021. Fudge earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The Ohio State University and a Juris Doctor from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University.

Roland W. Burris

Senator Roland Burris represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 2009 to 2010. Governor Rod Blagojevich selected Burris to fill the unexpired term of then-President-elect Baraka Obama on December 31, 2008. Burris served on the Armed Services, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Veterans’ Affairs committees.  In the Senate, Burris supported President Obama’s legislative agenda, including economic stimulus legislation and the repeal of Don’t–Ask–Don’t–Tell. He also supported representation for the District of Columbia in the Senate. Burris received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He was an exchange student on scholarship to study International Law at the University of Hamburg in Germany. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law.

Cedric Richmond

Congressman Cedric Richmond was representative for Louisiana’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2021 (112th – 116th Congresses). Richmond, a lawyer, was a Louisiana State House of Representatives member before Congress. He served on the Homeland Security Committee, where he was Chair of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation. Richmond also served on the Judiciary and Small Business Committees. On January 15, 2021, Cedric resigned to serve as Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Public Engagement at the White House during the Biden Administration. Richmond earned a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and a Juris Doctor from Tulane School of Law. He also completed an executive program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Donald Payne Jr.

Congressman Donald Payne Jr. has represented New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District since 2012 (112th Congress – present). Following his father’s death, U.S. Representative Donald M. Payne, on March 6, 2012, Payne ran in the primary to succeed him in Congress. Before Congress, Payne was on the Municipal Council of Newark and served on the Essex County Board of Freeholders. In Congress, Payne sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he is Chair of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials in the powerful House Committee. Payne also sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security and is Chair of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. He introduced two bills signed into Public Law by President Barack Obama, including the Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act of 2015, which ensures that DHS personnel can reliably communicate during emergencies. Rep. Payne, Jr. also introduced a bill to secure public areas of transportation facilities, such as airports. His bill was incorporated into the FAA Reauthorization Act and signed into law in October 2018. He also serves on the Small Business Committee. Payne studied graphic arts at Kean University.

Frederica S. Wilson

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson has represented Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011 (112th Congress). Before Congress, Rep. Wilson was an educator who served in the Florida State House of Representatives and the Florida State Senate. There she served as Minority Leader Pro Tempore and as Minority Lead Whip. She sits on the House Committee on Education and Labor, where she is Chair of two Subcommittees: Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions and Higher Education and Workforce Investment. She also sits on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Education and Workforce, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. As the Ranking Democrat on the Education and Workforce Protections Subcommittee in the 114th Congress, Congresswoman Wilson introduced the American Jobs Act of 2013, an innovative bill that promoted full employment and boosts workforce development opportunities; the Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights, which would provide vital relief to overburdened student loan borrowers; and the Youth Corp Act of 2013, which would reconnect youth with education, the workforce and their communities. Wilson earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Fisk University and her master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Miami.

Tim Scott

Senator Tim Scott has represented South Carolina in the United States Senate since 2013 (113th – Congress – Present). Before his tenure in the Senate, he served one term as a Congressman representing South Carolina’s First Congressional District from 2011 to 2013 (112th Congress). Before Congress, Scott served in the South Carolina General Assembly and served on the Charleston County Council. Scott’s Committee Assignments include The Senate Finance Committee,  Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs and Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He is the Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. In July 2018, Scott and Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris introduced a bipartisan bill to make lynching a

Scott graduated from Charleston Southern University with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

Cory Booker

Senator Cory Booker has represented the state of New Jersey in the United States Senate since 2013 (113th Congress – Present). Before Congress, Cory was Mayor and served on the Newark City Council.  Booker sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and the Small Business Committee. He is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research. Previous Committee assignments have included:  Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (2013–2018), Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (2015–2017), and Committee on Environment and Public Works (2013–2021). Booker has been a national leader in criminal justice reform and the effort to end mass incarceration, helping craft the most sweeping set of criminal justice reforms in a generation, the First Step Act, which became law in December 2018. He has been a leader in the Senate in the fight to protect the Affordable Care Act while also championing proposals to build upon the law, increase access to care, and lower costs. Booker earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Stanford University. He attended Queen’s College, Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship before attending Yale Law School.

Hakeem Jeffries

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries has represented New York’s Eighth Congressional District since 2013 (113th Congress – Present). Before Congress, Jeffries was a corporate lawyer who served in the New York State Assembly. Jeffries is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and House Budget Committee. He is also Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, having been elected to that position by his colleagues in November 2018. He is the fifth highest-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives. Previously he was Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. In January 2020, Rep. Jeffries was selected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve as one of seven House Impeachment Managers in the Senate trial of President Donald Trump, becoming the first African American man to serve in that role. Later that year, Rep. Jeffries authored legislation to criminalize the chokehold and other inherently dangerous tactics such as a knee to the neck as part of the historic police reform bill,  H.R. 7120, the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.” Jeffries earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Binghamton University and a master’s degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. He also earned a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law.

Marc Veasey

Congressman Marc Veasey has represented Texas’ 33rd Congressional District since 2013 (113th Congress – Present). Before Congress, Veasey was a member of the Texas House of Representatives, where he was Chair Pro Tempore of the House Democratic Caucus. He serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce and Armed Services Committee. Before his committee appointments, Rep. Veasey served on the Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Science Space and Technology. Rep. Veasey founded the first Congressional Voting Rights Caucus to address the immediate need to eliminate the barriers and discrimination too many Americans face at the polls. In the 117th Congress, he accepted his appointment as an Assistant and Regional Whip. In the 117th Congress, the Congressman served as a Whip for the Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce. Veasey earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas Wesleyan University in Mass Communications.

William “Mo” Cowan

Senator William Mo Cowan represented Massachusetts from 2013 to 2015 (113th Congress). Cowan was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on February 1, 2013, to succeed Senator John Kerry, who had resigned to become Secretary of State in the Obama Administration. Senator Cowan was assigned to three committees: Agriculture, Commerce, and Small Business. He chaired the Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Food and Agricultural Research. He also co-chaired the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force. During his tenure in the 113th Congress, Cowan co-sponsored the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (S. 47) which was signed into law.  Cowan earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Duke University and earned a Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law.

Steven Horsford

Congressman Steven Horsford has represented Nevada’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019 (116th Congress). He served previously from 2013 to 2015 (113th Congress). Before Congress, Horsford led the Culinary Training Academy, Nevada’s largest job training program, for more than a decade. He also served as Nevada State Senator, where he made history as Nevada’s first African American State Senate Majority Leader Horsford. serves on the Ways & Means Committee, Budget Committee and Armed Services Committee, where he sits on the Strategic Forces and Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittees. Horsford received a degree from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Allen B. West

Congressman Allen Bernard West represented Florida’s 22nd Congressional District from 2011 to 2013 (113th Congress). West, a Republican politician and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, declared himself a defender of conservative values. He served on the House Armed Services Committee and the Small Business Committee in Congress. West served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 2020 to 2021. He attended the University of Tennessee, where he joined the Army ROTC program. West earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Tennessee. He later received a master’s degree in political science from Kansas State University. He also earned a master of military arts and sciences degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer College in political theory and military history and operations.

Alma Adams

Dr. Alma S. Adams has represented the 12th Congressional District of North Carolina since 2014 (13th Congress). After winning a special election, Congresswoman Adams was sworn in immediately as the 100th woman elected to Congress, the most in U.S. history. Before Congress, Dr. Adams served in the North Carolina General Assembly and the Greensboro City Council. Adams currently serves on the Committee on Financial Services, Committee on Education & Labor and the Committee on Agriculture. She holds several leadership roles: Assistant Whip for the Democratic Caucus, Chairwoman of the Committee on Education & Labor’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections and Vice Chairwoman of the Committee on Agriculture. Representative Adams’s subcommittee assignments and Workforce Protections include Civil Rights and Human Services Committee on Education and Labor; Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations on Agriculture; and the Oversight and Investigations on Financial Services. Her signature legislative accomplishment in Congress is the enactment of H.R. 5363, the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act, which permanently provides funding totaling $255 million a year for all Minority-Serving Institutions, including $85 million for HBCUs. Representative Adams has previously served on the Joint Economic Committee and in several leadership positions, including Vice Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee and Ranking Member of the Small Business Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulation. Adams earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from North Carolina A&T State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Art Education and Multicultural Education from The Ohio State University.

Bonnie Watson Coleman

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman has represented New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District since 2015 (114th Congress-Present).  Her election to the House of Representatives makes her the first African American woman to represent New Jersey in Congress. Before Congress, Watson Coleman served in the New Jersey General Assembly. She was the first Black woman to serve as Majority Leader and the Chair of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. Watson Coleman is a member of the Appropriations Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, where she serves as Chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security.  She is a member of the Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC). Her mission is to advance policies that promote renewable energy and green-collar jobs, protect our nation’s natural environment, and address global climate change. In 2017, Watson Coleman introduced the Safer Pipelines Act to increase accountability for pipeline projects. This bill would amend and improve the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission review process for new pipeline projects and require a 5-year environmental monitoring process for all constructed projects. Watson Coleman is a graduate of Thomas Edison State College.

Brenda Lawrence

Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence has represented Michigan’s 14th Congressional District since 2015 (114th Congress-Present). Before her tenure in Congress, Lawrence had an extensive career as a public servant, working for the U.S. Postal Service, as Mayor of the City of Southfield, President of the Southfield City Council, and on the Southfield Public School Board of Education. Lawrence is the Vice-Chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. She serves on the subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services (LHHS), the subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) and the subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG). She is also a member of the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, where she serves on the subcommittee on Government Operations. Lawrence earned her bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University.

Hansen Clarke

Congressman Hansen Clarke represented Michigan’s 13th Congressional District from 2011 to 2013 (113th Congress). Clarke served on the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in Congress. Before his election, he had been a member of the Michigan House of Representatives and represented the first District in the Michigan Senate. He’d also worked in the Detroit district office of Congressman John Conyers. Clarke remains active in local politics. Clarke earned a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Cornell University and a law degree from Georgetown University.

Joyce Beatty

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty has represented Ohio’s Third Congressional District since 2013 (113th Congress – Present). Beatty serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and is a member of two Subcommittees: Housing and Insurance and Oversight and Investigations. She has introduced important legislation to end human trafficking. She has also introduced legislation to improve financial literacy and protect consumers’ credit. She recently introduced legislation to enable small businesses to purchase, rehabilitate, or operate affordable housing units. Before Congress, Beatty was Senior Vice President of Outreach and Engagement at The Ohio State University and a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for five terms. During her tenure in the Ohio House, she rose to become the first female Democratic House Leader in Ohio’s history. She spearheaded legislation requiring financial literacy in Ohio’s public school curriculum, expanded STEM education, and secured funds to help under- and uninsured women access to breast and cervical cancer treatment. Beatty earned a bachelor’s degree from Central State University and a master’s degree from Wright State University. She completed all requirements but her dissertation for a doctorate at the University of Cincinnati.

Karen Bass

Congresswoman Karen Bass represents California’s 37th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has served in Congress since 2011 (112th Congress). Congressmember Bass serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where she is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights. She also serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. Congressmember Bass has served on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations for as long as she’s served in Congress. As Chair of the Subcommittee, Congressmember Bass has acted to build coalitions and support economic growth and partnerships with the African Countries. Congressmember Bass also helped pass the Equality Act of 2020, which would provide consistent and explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment and housing. Before her tenure in Congress, Bass served as the 67th speaker of the California State Assembly, the first African American woman in that position. She graduated from California State Dominguez Hills and the University of Southern California’s School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program.

Mia Love

Congresswoman Ludmya “Mia” Love represented Utah’s Fourth Congressional District from 2015 to 2019 (114th – 115th Congresses). She was the first African American elected to Congress from Utah and the first African American woman elected to Congress as a Republican. Love had been active in civic affairs when she served as the community spokesperson in Saratoga Springs and on the Saratoga Springs City Council before her election. In Congress, Love served on the House Financial Services Committee, the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee, the Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee and the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee. From her position on Financial Services, she pushed a bill that raised the lending limit for small banks; the proposal passed as part of a broader Senate bill that removed specific financial regulations. Love also served on the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives under the auspices of the Energy and Commerce Committee. After leaving Congress, she was a non-residential senior fellow at The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. She was appointed a fellow of the Institute of Politics and Public service at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Love recently joined the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University as the national outreach director. Love graduated from the University of Hartford with a bachelor of fine arts degree.

Robin Kelly

Rep. Robin Kelly has represented Illinois’ Second Congressional District since 2013. Kelly is Vice-Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and serves on the Health, Energy, and Consumer Protection and Commerce subcommittees. Her Energy and Commerce work is focused on expanding access to healthcare, consumer protection for American families and economic development. Additionally, she is a Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and serves on the national security and civil rights and civil liberties subcommittees. Representative Kelly is a Co-Chair of the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce and is the author of The 2014 Kelly Report on Gun Violence in America, the first-ever Congressional analysis of the nation’s gun violence epidemic that offers a blueprint for ending the crisis. Before joining Congress, Rep. Kelly served as a State Representative in the Illinois Legislature, where she fought for landmark legislation to protect victims of domestic violence. While in the Legislature, Rep. Kelly was Chief Administrative Officer of Cook County. She was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the second-largest county in the nation. Kelly earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and master’s degree in Counseling from Bradley University. She later received a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University.

Stacey Plaskett

Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett has served the United States Virgin Islands’ at-large Congressional District since 2015 (114th Congress). She currently serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Committee on Budget, and the House Committee on Agriculture. She previously served as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. During her service on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mrs. Plaskett worked to ensure that the federal government was responsive to the needs of Americans in disaster-stricken areas. As a former attorney in public finance law, Congresswoman Plaskett sees the importance of Public-Private Partnerships and created ways to incentivize economic development in underserved areas in America. Congresswoman Plaskett has a long history of public service. She began her career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx DA’s office. Plaskett worked as a political appointee at the Department of Justice, where she served as Senior Counsel under Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson and his successor James Comey. In the Virgin Islands, she has served as General Counsel for the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, charged with the economic development of the U.S. territory and has also worked in private practice as counsel and transactional attorney for numerous companies. Plaskett earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and her Juris Doctorate from American University’s Washington College of Law.

Terri A. Sewell

Congresswoman Terri Sewell has represented the Seventh district of Alabama since January 3, 2011 (112th Congress – Present). She is one of the first women elected to Congress from Alabama and is the first Black woman to ever serve in the Alabama Congressional delegation. Before her election in 2010, Congresswoman Sewell was the first Black woman partner in the Birmingham law office of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C., where she distinguished herself as one of the only Black public finance lawyers in the State of Alabama. Congresswoman Sewell sits on the exclusive House Ways and Means Committee, where she serves on three subcommittees: the Subcommittee on Health; the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures; and the Subcommittee on Social Security. She is also Chief Deputy Democratic Whip and sits on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee. Congresswoman Sewell was honored that her first piece of successful legislation recognized the “Four Little Girls” who tragically lost their lives during the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow. The bill passed unanimously in both houses of Congress. It was signed into law by President Barack Obama on May 24, 2013, in a signing ceremony in the Oval Office to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the church bombing.   She also served as the Democratic freshman class president and Senior Whip. Sewell graduated from Princeton University and received a master’s degree with first-class Honors from Oxford University. She received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Dwight Evans

Congressman Dwight Evans has represented Pennsylvania’s Third Congressional District since 2015 (114th Congress). He was first elected in a special election in November 2016. Before his tenure in Congress, Evans served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for 36 years, making history as the first African American chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which he held for two decades. Evans serves on the Ways and Means Committee and the Small Business Committee. He is also a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. In his first term, one of his bills designed to reduce costs for small business owners who apply for a loan through the Small Business Administration passed into law. Throughout his tenure, Evans has fought to improve health care, reduce health disparities, and advocate for gun reform, criminal justice reform, and economic development, including supporting small businesses. He is a graduate of the Community College of Philadelphia and LaSalle University.

William Ballard Hurd

Congressman William Hurd was representative for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District from 2015 to 2021 (114th – 116th Congresses). From 2019 until 2021, Hurd was the only African American Republican in the House of Representatives. In Congress, he served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and as Chair of the Information Technology Subcommittee (House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform) and Vice-Chair on the Border and Maritime Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee. Before Congress, Hurd worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as an operations officer in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. He also worked as a partner with Crumpton Group LLC, a strategic advisory firm, and a senior adviser with FusionX, a cybersecurity firm. Hurd is a graduate of Texas A&M University.

Lisa Blunt Rochester

Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester has represented Delaware in Congress since 2017 (115th Congress). Rochester is the Assistant Whip for House Leadership. She currently serves as an Assistant Whip for House Leadership. She sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where she is the only former statewide health official on that committee. She previously served on the House Committee on Agriculture. In this role, she helped craft the 2018 Farm Bill, which is a five-year re-authorization that extends U.S. Department of Agriculture programs related to the farm safety net; nutrition programs that feed children, seniors, people with disabilities, and families who rely on the social support programs; land-grant and 1890 universities; and agriculture research. Before her congressional tenure, Rochester’s distinguished career included serving in the cabinets of two Delaware Governors, as CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, and Senior Executive Leadership and Systems Manager for the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Rochester is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University with a degree in International Relations and earned a master’s degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware.

Anthony Gregory Brown

Congressman Anthony Brown has represented Maryland’s 4th Congressional District since 2017 (115th Congress). Brown is on the House Armed Services Committee, where he helps shape policies to support military training and resources, fight 21st-century threats, and keep our country strong and safe. Brown is on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and is currently Co-Chair of the New Democrat Coalition’s National Security Task Force. A retired Colonel in the United States Army Reserve, Brown’s military record spanned more than 25 years as an aviator and J.A.G. He graduated first in his flight class and received both Airborne and Air Assault qualifications. Congressman Brown was awarded the Legion of Merit for his distinguished military service. Before his tenure in Congress, Brown served as Lt. Governor and in the Maryland House of Delegates, serving as Vice-Chair of the powerful House Judiciary Committee and, later, as Majority Whip. Congressman Brown is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School

Valdez (Val) Demings

Congresswoman Val Demings has represented Florida’s 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017 (115th Congress). Demings serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Subcommittee on Intelligence Modernization and Readiness; Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support), the House Judiciary Committee (Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security; Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law), and the House Committee on Homeland Security (Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security). She is Chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. In 2020, she broke another glass ceiling when she became one of the first women and Black Americans to prosecute a presidential impeachment before the U.S. Senate. Demings is a lifelong public servant, serving first as a social worker, then for 27 years with the Orlando Police Department (O.P.D.) before her election to Congress. She received a bachelor’s degree in Criminology and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Florida State University.

Kamala D. Harris

Senator Kamala Devi Harris was elected to the United States Senate, representing California during the 115th Congress, from 2017 until January 18, 2021. Harris resigned from her Senate seat to become Vice President of the United States during the Biden Administration. Before her senate election, Harris was California’s attorney general from 2011 to 2016. She also served as deputy district attorney for Alameda County; managing attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office; chief of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Division on Children and Families; and district attorney of San Francisco. Harris earned her undergraduate degree from Howard University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Brenda Jones

In 2018, Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones won a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of longtime Representative John Conyers Jr. Although she was elected for the 115th Congress (2017–2019), Jones lost the general election for the 116th Congress (2019–2021) on the same day. Consequently, her term on Capitol Hill lasted only six weeks. Jones received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wayne State University.

Alfred Lawson

Congressman Alfred Lawson has represented Florida’s Fifth Congressional District since 2017 (115th Congress). Lawson currently serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee. As Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Lawson authored one of the most important environmental laws in the country. This law created the most extensive state-funded land acquisition program in the United States. Before Congress, he served for 28 years in the state legislature as a member of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. Lawson received his bachelor’s degree from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from Florida State University.  He also completed his coursework for a Ph.D. in Public Administration.

Aston Donald McEachin

Congressman A. Donald McEachin has represented Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017 (115th Congress). During his first term in Congress, McEachin co-founded the United for Climate and Environmental Justice Congressional Task Force, and he leads the task force as a co-chair. He also serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C), the House Committee on Natural Resources (Natural Resources), and the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. As a member of E&C, Rep. McEachin sits on the Environment and Climate Change, the Communications and Technology, and the Energy subcommittees. As a member of Natural Resources, Rep. McEachin sits on the Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee. Rep.  McEachin is co-chair of the House Democratic Environmental Message Team, Co-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus’ Transportation, Infrastructure, Environment and Energy Policy Council, and vice-chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (S.E.E.C.).  Rep. McEachin graduated from American University with a degree in Political Science and from the University of Virginia School of Law. In May of 2008, he received his Master of Divinity from The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.

Antonio Delgado

Congressman Antonio Delgado has represented New York’s 19th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019 (116th Congress). Delgado received the Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Enterprise Award and the Jefferson-Hamilton Award for his bipartisan legislative work early in his tenure. He is the Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit. He also serves on the House Small Business and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. Before Congress, Delgado had a career in the music industry focused on empowering young people through Hip Hop culture and worked as an attorney in the complex commercial space. He has dedicated significant time to pro bono work with criminal justice reform. Delgado earned a Rhodes Scholarship while at Colgate University and graduated from Harvard Law School.

Kwanza Hall

Congressman Kwanza Hall represented Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 116th Congress (2019 – 2021). Hall won a special election to fill this vacancy following the death of Congressman John R. Lewis. Hall has held leadership positions with the municipal government and the private sector. Notably, he has been a member of the Atlanta City Council and Atlanta Board of Education. Hall attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jahana Hayes

Jahana Hayes represents the Fifth Congressional District of Connecticut. Hayes was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2018, making her the first African American woman and the first African American Democrat ever to represent the state of Connecticut in Congress. She currently sits on the House Committees of Education and Labor and Agriculture. She is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations. Hayes first garnered widespread recognition while serving as a teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, when she was selected as the Connecticut Teacher of the Year, before earning the distinction of 2016 National Teacher of the Year N.T.O.Y.Y.). She is a graduate of Naugatuck Valley Community College, Southern Connecticut State University, the University of Saint Joseph and the University of Bridgeport, having earned a bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education, a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and a degree in Administrative Leadership.

Lucy McBath

Congresswoman Lucy McBath has represented Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District since 2019 (116th Congress). McBath serves on the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Education and Labor. She is also Vice-Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. One of her first legislative actions as a Member of Congress was co-sponsoring H.R.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in February 2019. Before Congress, McBath had a 30-year career as a flight attendant at Delta Airlines. Following the tragic death of her son, McBath dedicated her life to preventing gun violence, becoming the national spokesperson and faith and outreach leader for Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. McBath earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Virginia State University.

Joseph Neguse

Congressman Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Neguse was first elected in November 2018, becoming the first African American member of Congress in Colorado history. He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Additionally, he serves as Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. His colleagues elected him to serve as a member of House Democratic Leadership in the 117th Congress, as Co-Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee D.P.C.C.C.). Before Congress, Neguse served in the Governor of Colorado’s Cabinet as the Executive Director of Colorado’s consumer protection agency. He was one of the youngest people to serve as a state-Cabinet secretary. He also served a six-year term on the University of Colorado Board of Regents, and in the Colorado House of Representatives as a Commissioner at Boulder Housing Partners. Neguse co-founded New Era Colorado, the state’s largest youth voter registration and mobilization nonprofit. He received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Colorado-Boulder and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado School of Law.

Ilhan Omar

Congressman Ilhan Omar has represented Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019. Omar was the first African refugee to become a Member of Congress, the first woman of color to represent Minnesota, and one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress. Congresswoman Omar is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She serves as the Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations and the Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations and Global Corporate Social Impact. Omar also serves on the House Education and Labor Committee, where she is a member of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development and the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. She is an experienced policy analyst, organizer, public speaker and advocate. Before running for office, she worked as a community educator at the University of Minnesota, was a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and was a Senior Policy Aide for the Minneapolis City Council. In 2016 she was elected as the Minnesota House Representative for District 60B, making her the highest-elected Somali-American public official in the United States and the first Somali-American state legislator. She graduated from North Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies.

Ayanna Pressley

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley represents Massachusetts’ Seventh Congressional District, making her the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Pressley has served since 2019 (16th Congress). She serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Before Congress, she was a community activist, working as a senior aide to Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II, volunteering for Senator John Kerry’s reelection campaign, and working for Senator Kerry for 13 years in various roles, including constituency director and political director.  Senator Kerry described Congresswoman Pressley as a “force” who “believed in public service.” In 2009, she launched a historic at-large campaign for Boston City Council and won, becoming the first woman of color elected to the Council in its 100-year history. Congresswoman Pressley attended Boston University.

Lauren Underwood

Congresswoman Lauren Underwood has served Illinois’ 14th Congressional District since 2019 (116th Congress). and was the first woman, the first person of color, and the first millennial to represent her community in Congress. She is also the youngest African American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives. Underwood serves on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the House Committee on Appropriations. Congresswoman Underwood co-founded and co-chairs the Black Maternal Health Caucus, elevating the Black maternal health crisis within Congress and advancing policy solutions to improve maternal health outcomes and end disparities. Underwood also serves on the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Before her election to Congress, she worked with a Medicaid plan. She was Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As a career public servant at H.H.S., she helped implement the Affordable Care Act — broadening access for those on Medicare, improving health care quality, and reforming private insurance. Underwood is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University.

Colin Allred

Congressman Collin Allred has represented the 32nd Congressional District of Texas since 2019 (116th Congress). Allred serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Foreign Affairs, and Veterans’ Affairs Committees. A member of the Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee on Health, his top priorities in Congress are working to lower health care costs, protecting Medicare and Social Security, and creating an economy that works for everyone. Before Congress, Allred served in the General Counsel’s office at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Allred graduated from Baylor University with a bachelor’s degree in History and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of California’s Berkeley School of Law.

Jamaal Bowman

Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D represents New York’s 16th District. Bowman serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor and is Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor in the 117th Congress. Bowman is Chair of the Subcommittee on Energy. Before coming to Congress, Bowman was a crisis intervention teacher in a Bronx public school. In 2009, Bowman founded Cornerstone Academy for Social Action (CASA), a Bronx middle school focused on unlocking the natural brilliance of all children through a holistic curriculum, where he served as principal for a decade. Bowman has been an outspoken advocate for rethinking education, including ending state-sanctioned yearly standardized testing. Bowman earned an undergraduate degree from the University of New Haven, a master’s degree in guidance counseling from Mercy College, and a doctorate in education from Manhattanville College.

Shontel Brown

Congressman Shontel Brown represents Ohio’s 11th Congressional District. Congresswoman Brown proudly serves on the Oversight and Reform Committee and the Agriculture Committee. Brown began her public service as a Warrensville Heights City Council member in 2012. She went on to be elected to Cuyahoga County Council. Brown was also elected Chairwoman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, leading the largest Democratic county in the state. She made history as the first woman and the first Black person to serve in this role. Brown attended Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cori Bush

Congresswoman Bush represents Missouri’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is the first African American woman and first nurse to represent Missouri; the first woman to represent her district; the first activist from the Black Lives Matter movement elected to Congress. Bush has served her community for more than a decade as a nurse, clergy, and childcare worker. A relentless advocate for the unhoused community in St. Louis, Congresswoman Bush has spent years as a community organizer providing services and aid to her unhoused neighbors in her District. Bush captured national attention for her high-profile activism after sleeping on the steps of the U.S. Capitol for several days to protest a lapse in the federal eviction moratorium amid the coronavirus pandemic. She studied at Harris-Stowe State University before receiving a nursing degree from the Lutheran School of Nursing.

Troy Carter

Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr., represents Louisiana’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Carter currently serves on two House Committees: Transportation and Infrastructure and Small Business. Before his election to Congress, Carter served on the New Orleans City Council, representing District’ C’, which includes Algiers and the historic French Quarter, the first African American elected to the position. He served his state as a legislator, where he was a staunch advocate for criminal justice reform, women’s health care, and civil rights and equality on behalf of the LGBTQI+ community. Congressman Carter earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Business Administration from Xavier University and an M.B.A from Holy Cross University.

Sheila Cherfilus- McCormick

Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus – McCormick was elected to the 117th Congress, representing Florida’s 20th Congressional District. She serves on the House Committee(s) on Education and Labor and Veterans’ Affairs. Before Congress, she was Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of Operations for a home health care company. Cherfilus- McCormick earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government from Howard University and a Juris Doctor from the St. Thomas University School of Law.

Byron Donalds

Congressman Byron Donalds represents Florida’s 19th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on several committees, including the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, House Budget Committee, House Small Business Committee, and Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth. Before his election, he worked in the banking, finance, and insurance industries. He also served in the Florida House of Representatives. During his tenure in the Florida House, he was primarily focused on elder affairs, criminal justice reform, and ensuring that each child has access to a world-class education. Congressman Donalds is a graduate of Florida State University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance and marketing.

Mondaire Jones

Congressman Mondaire Jones represents New York’s 17th District in the U.S House of Representatives. Jones serves on the House Judiciary, Education and Labor, and Ethics Committees and as Freshman Representative to Leadership, making him the youngest member of the Democratic House leadership team. Before Congress, Jones was a litigator in private practice and the Westchester County Law Department. During the Obama Administration, he worked at the Department of Justice in the Office of Legal Policy. He vetted candidates for federal judgeships and worked to reform our criminal legal system to make it more fair and equitable. Jones earned his bachelor’s degree at Stanford University and graduated from Harvard Law School.

Marilyn Strickland

Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland represents Washington’s Tenth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Strickland is the first African American to represent Washington at the federal level and one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress in its 230-year history. Strickland serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Armed Services Committee. Before Congress, Strickland served as Mayor of Tacoma, Washington. Strickland earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Washington and an M.B.A. from Clark-Atlanta University.

Ritchie Torres

Congressman Ritchie Torres represents New York’s 15th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Torres serves on the Committee on Financial Services and the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance, and the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions. He is also Vice-Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security, serving on the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection & Innovation and the Subcommittee on Oversight, Management & Accountability. Before Congress, Torres was a New York City Councilmember where he was the youngest elected official and the first openly LGTBQ person elected to office in the Bronx. In that role, he passed over forty pieces of legislation, including legislation protecting the city’s affordable housing stock and tackling the opioid epidemic. Torres attended New York University.

Raphael Warnock

Senator Raphael Warnock was elected to the United States Senate, representing Georgia, in the 117th Congress. Senator Warnock serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and the Special Committee on Aging and the Joint Economic Committee. For over 15 years, Senator Warnock has served as Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia the former pulpit of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is the youngest pastor selected to serve in that leadership role at the historic church. Senator Warnock is a graduate of Morehouse College and earned a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary.

Nikema Williams

Congresswoman Nikema Williams represents Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Elected as the Freshman Class President for the 117th Congress, Williams sits on the Financial Services Committee, where she is Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight and the Transportation and Infrastructure. Williams is also a member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. Before Congress, she served in the Georgia State Senate. In 2019, she was elected chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, the first Black woman to serve. Williams has a passion for several legislative issues, including voting rights, reproductive justice, social justice, economic justice and healthcare. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Talladega College.

Jasmine Crockett

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas in the 118th U.S. House of Representatives. Congresswoman Crockett serves as Freshman Leadership Representative on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the House Committee on Agriculture. Before Congress, she served as a public defender, civil rights attorney, and State Representative. In addition to serving as Bowie County Democratic Party Chair, she also held various leadership positions within the legal community and is a former Dallas County Metrocare Services board member. Congresswoman Crockett earned her B.A. in Business Administration from Rhodes College and her J.D. from the University of Houston.

Don Davis

Congressman Don Davis represents the First Congressional District of North Carolina in the 118th U.S. House of Representatives. Before his election to Congress, he was a dedicated educator and public servant, having served as the youngest Mayor of the city of Snow Hill and on the North Carolina State Senate for several terms. In addition, he served as assistant professor of Aerospace Studies at East Carolina University Air Force ROTC Detachment 600, where he taught national security affairs, military history, and leadership courses. Congressman Davis serves on the Agriculture Committee (Vice Ranking Member) and House Armed Services Committees. Davis is a United States Air Force Academy graduate and was a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force.

Valerie Foushee

Congresswoman Valerie Foushee represents the Fourth Congressional District of North Carolina in the 118th U.S. House of Representatives. Before Congress, Foushee worked as an administrator for the Chapel Hill police department and served 25 years as a local and state elected official. She served on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board, being the first African American woman elected to chair the Orange County Board of Commissioners, to serving in the North Carolina State House and the North Carolina State Senate. In Congress, Congresswoman Foushee serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

Maxwell Alejandro Frost

Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost represents the 10th Congressional District of Florida in the 118th U.S. House of Representatives. Before his election, Frost held leadership roles at ACLU and eventually March for Our Lives, where he served as National Organizing Director. Notably, he is the first member of Generation Z in Congress. As a freshman member, Frost serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Frost studied at Valencia College.

Glenn Ivey

Congressman Glenn Ivey represents Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District in the 118th U.S. House of Representatives. Before Congress, Ivey was an attorney who served on Capitol Hill as chief counsel to the Senate Majority Leader Senator Paul Sarbanes during the Whitewater investigations, as Chief Majority Counsel to the Senate Banking Committee, and on the staff of Rep. John Conyers (D-MI). He also worked for U.S. Attorney Eric Holder as an assistant U. S. Attorney and chair of Maryland’s Public Service Commission. He was twice elected State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, Maryland. In Congress, he serves on the House Committee on the Judiciary, the House Committee on Homeland Security, and the House Committee on Ethics. Ivey is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

Jonathan Jackson

Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson represents Illinois’ First Congressional District in the 118th U.S. House of Representatives. Before Congress, Jackson served as a national spokesperson for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He also launched several telecom, distribution, and construction businesses, taught finance and entrepreneurship courses at City Colleges of Chicago and was a business professor at Chicago State University. In Congress, he serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Jackson graduated from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and earned a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business.

Sydney Kamlager-Dove

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove represents California’s 37th Congressional District. Before Congress, Kamlager-Dove spent her career advocating for communities and families. She served on the Los Angeles County Commission on Children and Families and was elected to the Los Angeles Community College Board. She also served in the California State Assembly and California State Senate in 2021. As a Freshman Member of Congress, she serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Committee on Natural Resources. Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove graduated from the University of Southern California and earned a graduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

Summer Lee

Congresswoman Summer Lee represents Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District in the 118th U.S. House of Representatives. She is the first Black woman ever elected to Congress from Western Pennsylvania. Before Congress, She worked as a labor organizer and served in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, becoming the first Black woman from Western Pennsylvania ever elected to the legislature. In Congress, Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the House Committee on Space Science and Technology. Lee is a Pennsylvania State University and Howard University School of Law graduate.

Emilia Strong Sykes

Congresswoman Emilia Strong Sykes represents Ohio’s 13th Congressional District in the 118th U.S. House of Representatives. She became the first Black person elected as a district representative when elected. Before Congress, Sykes served as the State Representative for the Ohio House of Representatives. She was the minority leader. Congresswoman Sykes graduated from Kent State University and received a J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a Master of Public Health from the College of Public Health and Health Professions.

Jennifer McClellan

Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan represents Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District in the 118th U.S. House of Representatives. Before coming to Congress, McClellan worked as regulatory counsel for Verizon Communications and served in the Virginia State Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates. In Congress, she serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Science, Space, & Technology Committee. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Richmond and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.